F.A.Q Premium Service

Description of the guarantee

• Our guarantee provides an alternative solution to traditional deposit and rent insurance. You will only receive booking requests from pre-screened tenants, who will benefit from being able to rent on fairer terms without providing a traditional deposit. Our guarantee protects landlords’ rental income while reducing the administrative burden involved in recovering costs in the event of damage or a rental default.

What does the guarantee mean for landlords?

• Our guarantee offers you protection in the event of a rent default or damage to your property. 

Why should I offer this on my rental property?

• Offering your property without a deposit makes it more attractive to potential renters. We’ve seen that properties offered without a deposit see an increase in bookings by 3 times, reducing the time that your property is vacant.

What is included in the guarantee?

• Protection in the event of a rent default or damage with a value up to a maximum of six months of the tenant’s share of the rent.

What happens if my tenant stops paying rent?

• We will pay the value of the rent up to a maximum of six months of the tenant’s share of the rent.

What happens if the tenant damages the property?

• If you are unable to resolve the issue with your tenant at the end of the term you can make a payment request for rent defaults or damage caused up to a maximum of two months of the tenant’s share of the rent.

What happens if the tenant leaves before the end of the contract?

• If the tenant leaves without giving 30 days' notice, we will pay their share of rent for up to 30 days.

What is the total guarantee value offered?

• The overall maximum that can be requested is the total value of the tenant’s rent, up to a maximum of six months of the tenant’s share of the rent.
• The maximum that can be requested in one month, is one month’s tenant share of the rent.

How does our guarantee work?

• If the tenant defaults on the rent, damages the property or leaves before the end date of the rental agreement without giving 30 days' notice, the property owner is eligible to start a payment request to Homeppl. Homeppl will process payment requests to landlords under the guarantee, but the tenant remains liable and will be pursued by Homeppl for money paid out.

What happens if I need to make a payment request?

• In the event that you need to make a payment request, email us at payments@homeppl.com. If the request relates to a rent default, we must be notified within 10 working days of the missed payment. If the request relates to damage caused to the property, we must be notified within 20 days of the end of the term.

When will I receive payment?

• We will initiate payment to you within 10 working days of your payment request being validated.

What if a payment request is challenged by a tenant?

• We always aim to find a mutually agreeable outcome. However, where the tenant disputes a payment request, we will ask both parties to provide evidence supporting the request. On the basis of the written and photographic evidence provided, we will determine whether the payment request is valid under the Guaranteed terms and conditions. If a payment request is considered invalid, we will charge a fee of £50.

What evidence will I need to provide in the event of a dispute?

• If your request is for a rent default, you should send a schedule of what rent is outstanding and when it became due. If your request is for damage, we recommend you include a signed check-in and check-out inventory and a schedule of the condition report. Where we don't have an inventory and schedule of conditions, we will work on the basis of what can be seen in the listing photographs.

What happens if there is damage in communal areas?

• Where rooms are being rented out to individual tenants, damage to or items in communal areas will not be reimbursed, as we cannot reliably assess who caused the damage.

What happens if items go missing from the property?

• We will reimburse you for items listed in the inventory that goes missing from the property.

Are there any exclusions in damage coverage?

• Damages not caused by the tenant
• General wear and tear
• Items not part of the inventory or not visible in the listing photographs or video if there is no inventory
• Where tenants are renting rooms, items in communal areas
• Gardening
• Damage caused by pets
• Damage caused by events of force majeure
• Alterations to the property agreed between the tenant and landlord
• Damage for which the landlord has previously made a payment request.

For further information, please see the full terms and conditions.

Are my tenants still responsible for damage or rent defaults?

• Yes, your tenants are still fully liable. In the event that we process a payment request for you, we will pursue the tenant for reimbursement and their failure to pay could impact their ability to rent in the future.

Do you offer any legal support to evict the tenant? 

• No - this is not part of the guarantee.

How should I proceed in the check-in to ensure I am fully covered?

• We recommend you include a signed check-in and check-out inventory and schedule of condition report to ensure you are fully covered. If there isn’t a signed inventory and schedule of conditions, we will cover items visible in the inventory photographs or video.

Vetting process

How does the vetting system work?

Homeppl assesses tenants’ real risk; ensuring no good tenant is rejected and every fraudulent one is.

As part of the process we verify:

• Identity - utilising documentation such as passports, residence permits, or driving licenses.

• Financial circumstances - generally through open banking, but otherwise through documentation like employment contracts, payslips, bank statements, or tax returns.
• Residential history - verification of where a potential tenant has been living such as bank statements or utility bills.

We use three main tools as part of our vetting process:

• Document analysis - forensically examining every piece of information contained or hidden in everyday documents, like bank statements, passports, or bills.
• Fraud detection - applying a unique variety of fraud prevention tools, such as data enrichment, behavioural analysis, and network tests to ensure that you let your property to good tenants.
• Open banking - assessing tenants’ financial data directly through a secure, authorised service that gives us real-time access to tenant's transactions from the widest range of international banks.

Does the landlord have to carry out any referencing on the tenants before moving in order to qualify for a claim payment if needed?

• No, we carry out thorough checks as part of referencing, so no further referencing is required from the landlord.

Is it a must to have the bills included to be covered by Homeppl?

• Yes. 

Claims

If the property is managed by a property manager -  who is going to claim the guarantee? Landlord or the company that manages the property? 

• We are happy to deal with either the landlord or the property manager to process payment requests.

Does the landlord need to carry out an inventory check-in and check-out to claim for damages?

• It is recommended, but not required. If an inventory isn’t conducted, we will base coverage of the photographs and videos in the listing.

Coverage of the payment protection

Am I covered for the full length of the contract? So if a Tenant unpays in month 7 am I covered?

• The term of the guarantee is for the full length of the contract, up to a maximum of 12 months. Our total liability is limited to a maximum value of six month’s share of the rent of the tenant. If the tenant pays their rent in months 1-6 and then fails to pay the rent in month 7, you would be eligible to submit a payment request for rent if they fail to pay in month 7. If we have already approved payment requests for months 1-6, then you would not be eligible to make a further request.

How much rent is it covered?

• Our total liability is limited to a maximum value of six month’s share of the rent of the tenant. 

How much rent is covered if the tenant leaves within the fixed term?

• In the event that the tenant leaves without giving notice during the fixed term, you will be eligible to make a payment request for 30 days worth of rent. If the tenant gives less than 30 days notice you will be eligible to make a payment request for 30 days worth of rent, minus the rent for the number of days of notice given.

What if the tenant stays in the property beyond the end of the contract?

• If the tenant fails to vacate the property and doesn’t pay rent. You will be eligible to submit a payment request for the rent default each month until the tenant vacates the property, up to a maximum of 6 months.

Do you support evicting the tenant?

• No, we do not provide support in evicting the tenant.

Other

Can we share the results of the vetting process with the Landlords?

• Yes, you can share the completed report with your landlords. This will show the checks completed, and the outcome of each check.