Our work with Touchstone BTR: The importance of choice

flatfair partnered with Touchstone’s Build to Rent team in 2020 and over the past three years, our partnership has gone from strength to strength. They currently offer our No Deposit solution at several of their Build-to-Rent sites across the UK.

Our partnership has produced some fantastic results not only for their Build to Rent team, but their customers too.

Tenants making huge upfront savings

To date, Touchstone has created an impressive 500 No Deposit plans, resulting in 828 residents benefitting from the option of our significantly lower upfront move-in costs.

In total, their Build to Rent residents have saved an enormous £517,638 by opting for flatfair No Deposit instead of a traditional five-week deposit.

“Using a deposit alternative will attract a poorer quality customer”

Touchstone’s Build to Rent residents do not just benefit from upfront savings though. 86.2% of their No Deposit tenancies have ended with no charges for damages or missing rent. Meaning they are free to move into their next home without worrying about deductions or the lengthy end of tenancy procedures associated with traditional deposits.

These remarkable stats show that despite the misconception of some, deposit alternatives will not attract a poorer quality of tenant.

Touchstone’s Head of BTR, Stephanie Douglas said, “there have been no discrepancies” between end of tenancy charges relating to both traditional deposits and No Deposits.

An added layer of protection

In addition to the fantastic benefits for residents, their landlords also benefit hugely from No Deposit, offering them free market-leading protection.

So, in the rare case that charges do occur, we can protect Touchstone’s landlords for £1,381,805 in case of damages and/or rent arrears. Which is an extra £717,190 more than they would have received with a traditional deposit.

Streamlining the deposit process with flatfair Deposits

The Build to Rent team at Touchstone became one of the earliest adopters of our latest product, flatfair Deposits, which is designed to streamline their deposit process by managing both traditional deposits and flatfair No Deposits under one centralised portal.

When asked why they adopted flatfair Deposits, Head of BTR at Touchstone, Stephanie Douglas highlighted the efficiencies gained as the key factor:

Supporting their tenants through the cost-of-living crisis

With flatfair Deposits, Touchstone’s Build to Rent residents are presented with the choice of a traditional deposit or flatfair No Deposit side by side, so they can choose which option best suits their individual circumstances.

When presented with the two options, 61.1% of their tenants chose flatfair No Deposit. This demonstrates the clear importance of offering residents the choice of lower moving costs during the cost-of-living crisis.

Head of BTR at Touchstone, Stephanie Douglas said, our deposit alternative option has particularly helped tenants who

“may not have instant access to funds required, such as newly graduated professionals starting employment or a tenant still awaiting the return of previous deposits held elsewhere.”

If you would like to receive similar rewards by offering No Deposit to your customers, then get in touch today to speak with our team.