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The Temporary Rental Blog from Berlin

What's the Difference between a Platform and a temporary Rental Agency?

Christine Kandler Von Christine Kandler
Smiling professional woman on the phone

What‘s the difference between a temporary housing agency and an online platform for furnished apartments?

In addition to the established agencies for temporary accommodation, there are now several online platforms on the market.

Agencies base their offices locally, and only in one city. This means they know their way around the city, and can also provide comprehensive advice to tenants and landlords.  Online platforms offer apartments in many other cities from their headquarters.

Both - agencies and platforms - mediate furnished apartments on a temporary basis. And platforms are a few percent cheaper per month than agencies. But apart from that there are few similarities. Platforms offer services that are simple and easily scaleable. Landlords can get any tenant through a platform. The service of online platforms is only to pass on address data. Temporary housing agencies onsite offer a comprehensive service, and guarantee security and little effort for both sides - tenants and landlords.

Platform

  • Relies on information provided by the renter. Platforms only check tenants according to formal criteria. Landlords receive relatively little information about the prospective tenant.
  • Forwards all inquiries to the landlord.
  • Forwards all inquiries, without screening, to the landlord. This includes requests from tenants who do not match the landlord's tenant profile, or from tenants who do not intend to move in for several months - vacancies are accepted.
  • Forwards address data of the landlords, even without any previous communication or examination of the tenants - anyone can view without intending to rent.
  • No rental pricing advice to guarantee that the apartment will be rented.
  • No individual contract preparation that takes into account the needs of both parties.
  • No personal contact person.
  • Varyingly skilled employees.
  • Limited telephone availability - call centre service.
  • No support during the rental period.
  • Prospective tenants just select furnished apartments on the platform, and individual apartments are not marketed to them.
  • Landlords write their own exposés, which are not checked or amended by the platform. Often the information that is crucial for the tenant is missing.

Temporary rental agency

  • Specialist agencies for temporary accommodation do not rely exclusively on the information provided by the prospective tenant and on the documents submitted. Agencies get a comprehensive impression of the prospective tenant, because not every tenant who can pay does pay, or is a good tenant.
  • Agencies for temporary renting check whether the apartment requested by the tenant also fits the tenant's housing needs. Tenants often overlook details regarding the location, furnishings etc. of an apartment. This is important, because making sure it fits the tenant is the only way to guarantee that they treat the apartment with care.
  • Only pass on prospective tenants who match with the landlord's tenant profile, as well as reasonable inquiries which are also in the interest of the landlord.
  • Arrange viewings and only pass on the address data of landlords after consultation, and if the agency comes to the conclusion that the apartment in question actually matches the tenant's search profile and that renting is likely (targeted viewings).
  • Realistic rental price advice - so that optimum capacity use is guaranteed.
  • Individual contracts offer legal security.
  • Personal contact person - we know each other.
  • Qualified, experienced housing agents.
  • Reachable by phone - if not, a call back or an answer via e-mail will be sent promptly.
  • Agencies are the contact person for landlords and tenants and are available to both parties during the entire rental period.
  • Agencies ask for the exact requirements profile and recommend apartments that correspond to it, and which the prospective tenant has seen on the website. Nobody has to spend time reviewing a large number of apartments.
  • Exposés are created, or checked and completed, by the agency.
  • Wide range of services - rental accounts - and deposit management. Agency ensures that rent payments are received on time.
  • Apartments are not reserved for tenants. Landlord can always rent to the tenant who fits or who is the fastest to decide. In the case of rental agreements, the tenant signs first. This means that the landlord can always be sure that the contract will be concluded.
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