Rentberry

online property rental platform

Rentberry, Inc. is an international long-term rental marketplace company based in San Francisco, California, United States. The company was founded in 2015 by Alex Lubinsky and Lily Ostapchuk.[1][2]

Rentberry
Founded2015
FounderOleksiy Lyubinsky (General Director), Lilia Ostapchuk (CPO)
HeadquartersSan Francisco,  United States
Key people
Oleksiy Lyubinsky (General Director),

Lilia Ostapchuk (CPO),

Denis Golubovsky (Technical Director),

Alex Kotovskov (project manager).
Number of employees
30+

History change

In 2015, Oleksiy Lyubinsky and Lilia Ostapchuk founded Rentberry in San Francisco, United States.[3][4][5]

That same year, the prototype of the Rentberry product raised $845,000 from 12 international investors, including Carlyle Group, Synergo Private Equity, IFC, Pegasus Capital, Abris Capital and Ericsson.[6][7]

In 2017, the company began working with ListHub, Realtor.com and Walk Score to combine rental bulletin boards.

In October 2017, Rentberry raised $4.5 million in venture financing. Zing Capital became a leading investor, joining Nelson Brothers Property Management, Hopewell Development, 808 Ventures, Beechwood Ventures, Jade Value.[2][8]

In 2018, Rentberry signed its first international partnership with OnTheMarket and entered the rental market in the UK.

In June 2019, the platform became available in more than 50 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy and more.[9]

Functional change

Rentberry offers a decentralized platform for landlords and tenants, based on a transparent process for submitting and reviewing rental applications, online payments, a risk assessment system for potential tenants and homeowners. Rent is paid through the website To do this, Rentberry works with HelloSign, offering tenants and landlords to sign sign legally binding documents digitally on the platforms.[10][11]

Rentberry also uses the DataUSA.io API service and database, providing tenants with information about the area where the tenant is looking for housing, including population, average age, poverty rate, average income, average property value, and more.

On September 10, 2018, Rentberry launched mobile applications for tenants and landlords on both iOS and Android.[9]

Critics change

The American press gave mixed reviews and called Rentberry "eBay for rent", claiming that the platform could only lead to a rise in the rental market.

Since the first launch, the controversial bidding tool (a tenant can set a preferred price for an apartment) has been discussed in Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, HuffingtonPost, CBS SF BayArea, SFGate, Inman, Curbed and other media.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

Lawsuit change

In March 2018, Seattle City Council imposed a one-year moratorium on platforms where you can bargain for rent, as in Rentberry.[19] In March 2019, Rentberry lost the case in the US District Court.[20] Reports say the Seattle City Council plans to extend the moratorium for another year. As of June 2019, Rentberry is agglomerating the lists (boards) of rental housing in Seattle, as the moratorium has not yet been extended.[21]

References change

  1. "Алексей Любинский, Rentberry: «Мы привлекли первый миллион в Долине, не имея продукта»". AIN.UA (in Russian). 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Украинский стартап Rentberry привлек новый раунд инвестиций на сумму $2,8 млн". AIN.UA (in Russian). 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  3. "Rentberry's controversial property bid site expands in US". BBC News. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  4. "Bidding Website Rentberry May Be the Startup of Your Nightmares". Gizmodo. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  5. "With the Rentberry App, Silicon Valley Invented Another Way to Drive Out the Working Class". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  6. "Основанный украинцами стартап Rentberry привлек $320 000 от инвесторов из Google, WP Global Partners и Boston Venture Fund". AIN.UA (in Russian). 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  7. "Украинский стартап Rentberry привлек $845 000 от мировых инвесторов и получил оценку в $3 млн, не имея готового продукта". AIN.UA (in Russian). 2015-12-02. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  8. "Украинские стартапы, которым удалось привлечь инвестиции в тяжелые времена". inventure.com.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  9. 9.0 9.1 GmbH, finanzen net. "Rentberry Has Expanded Worldwide and Introduced Mobile Apps". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  10. "Alex Lubinsky, CEO of Rentberry". Property Investor Today. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  11. "10 cryptocurrency startups to watch in 2018". Tech News | Startups News. 2018-01-27. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  12. Kosoff, Maya. "A Start-Up that Lets Renters Bid Against Each Other for Apartments Just Launched in America's Two Most Expensive Cities". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  13. Mims, Christopher (2017-04-02). "Want That Apartment? You May Have to Bid for It". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  14. "This new startup is making renters bid against each other for the best flats". The Independent. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  15. "Housing Advocates See Bitter Side Of New Bidding Startup Rentberry". 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  16. SFGATE, Mike Moffitt (2016-05-16). "SF startup lets would-be tenants bid for apartments". SFGATE. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  17. "Rentberry Lets You Auction Your Rental Property". Inman. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  18. Brinklow, Adam (2016-05-16). "Startup Offers Bidding War Platform For Apartments; Renters Freak". Curbed SF. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  19. "Rentberry v. City of Seattle". Pacific Legal Foundation. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  20. Schofield, Kevin (2019-04-28). "City Council moves to extend moratorium on rent-bidding platforms". Seattle City Council Insight. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  21. "City Council moves to extend moratorium on rent-bidding platforms". Seattle City Council Insight. 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2021-03-22.