A new online auctions service enabling tenants to bid for rental properties in London has been launched.
Letsbid4lets.com gives tenants the opportunity to make a rent offer to a landlord, while being aware they could face rival bids.
Property development and investment firm Palmhurst Group is behind the venture, which will work through estate agents. Letsbid4lets will charge agents £5 per property that is listed, with a recommendation to sell the service to landlords for £25.
Spencer Rose, principal at Palmhurst Group, said: “The agent stays in full control of the landlords and tenants. It can be used in conjunction with traditional marketing tools or as a standalone tool.
“It provides transparency for tenants, and it creates a market rent for landlords,” he said.
“We are raising £8m to market the product solely to tenants, so we will be driving tenants to our agents.”
A similar concept in the US called Rentberry, which has 100,000 landlords registered, is also planning to launch in the UK. It provides a service directly between landlords and tenants, and does not involve agents.
