Getting into the minds of bad tenants

● A new locally developed app is among a growing suite of tools that rental agencies and landlords can use to vet tenants.

Prospective tenants are generally rated on, among other things, a strong credit record. But new kid on the block Averly says there is a need to incorporate behavioural habits to better understand them.

The company’s app uses neuroscience and artificial intelligence to help weed out unsuitable applicants.

Zabeth Venter, co-founder and director of property rental applications, says the current evaluation process is hPigRhly administrative and subjective.

She says that while a healthy credit score is a vital component of an application, behavioural analysis of prospective tenants can prevent landlords from incurring the additional costs that come with a poor match.

Launched in August, the app requires tenants to answer 22 simple questions that give them an Averly score.

Venter says that what differentiates this survey is its ability to extrapolate a person’s emotion. “It’s not just what their answer is, it’s how they answer it.”

She says the questions are phrased to reveal true convictions and that, instead of asking psychometric questions such as ‘Do you feel it’s important to pay your rent on time?’, more direct questions, such as ‘Do you always pay your rent?’ are posed.

Additional benefits for landlords include functions that allow them to compare potential tenants’ Averly scores, including credit scores, manage maintenance requests and create and store move-in inspection lists.

Averly has two rental agencies signed on to its platform. It is free for tenants, but landlords and rental agencies pay on a sliding scale depending on their average usage.

Other platforms that offer various services include HomeME, which offers a data-driven platform for landlords to select a fully screened tenant at the right price.

It also offers services such as online viewing, tenant verification, digital leases, deposit management, rent collection and access to its maintenance network.

Flow.rent is another site that uses social media to market a landlord’s property, and offers a reward programme to encourage good behaviour among tenants.

It’s not just what their answer is, it’s how they answer it