Fees and Credits Policy
Welcome to Rent.com! If you are the owner or manager of a rental property with 50 or more units, you must register under the Pay-Per-Lease Program. Please contact us so we can assist you with such registration! To read more about the Fees and Credits Policy for the Pay-Per-Lease Program, click here.
If you are the owner or manager of a rental property with fewer than 50 units, you must register under the Pay-Per-Lead Program. To read more about the Fees and Credits Policy for the Pay-Per-Lead Program, click here.
This Fees and Credits Policy is incorporated into and is made a part of the digital or written advertising agreement between you and Rent.com.
Reported Lease. You will pay to Rent.com the specified advertising fee for each "Reported Lease," which means a situation where a Renter (a) finds your residential property advertised on the www.rent.com website (the "Website"); (b) enters into a lease for a unit in the property; (c) moves into the unit; and (d) reports that lease to Rent.com.
In the Rent.com Reward Card Policy, Rent.com directs Renters to tell the property they found them on Rent.com and encourages them to write "Rent.com" as their source on guest cards and/or lease applications. This is one of many ways for the parties to confirm lease validity. Importantly, however, it is not the only evidence that can establish that the Renter found the property on Rent.com. Accordingly, even if Rent.com is not noted as the source, you may remain liable for the Fee if there is other reasonable evidence (such as tracking data) that the Renter found the property on Rent.com.
Fees. There is no charge for you to advertise your Property on the Website. You will be obligated to pay to Rent.com a success fee, which equals $389 per Reported Lease, unless otherwise stated in our advertising agreement (the "Fee"). However, if the original term for the Reported Lease is 3 months or less, the fee is reduced to $175. You must pay the Fee for such Reported Lease within thirty (30) days after the Renter's move-in date or the date on which the Renter reports the lease, whichever comes later. In the event the Property changes its manager or is sold, you will notify us within ten (10) days after the management change or sale. You will remain liable for all Fees attributable to Reported Leases after such management change or sale unless you provide evidence that the new manager or owner has assumed the liability for such Reported Leases. In the event our Agreement is terminated, you will remain liable for all Fees attributable to Reported Leases for thirty (30) days after the effective date of such termination. In the event that one advertisement results in more than one Reported Lease, there will be a Fee for each Reported Lease. Rent.com will invoice you for the Fee, which you will be required to pay per the terms of the invoice. The Fee must be paid within thirty (30) days or interest will be charged at a rate of 1.5% per month, or the highest rate allowed by applicable law, whichever is lower. If you believe there is an error on the invoice, please notify us within such 30-day period; if you fail to notify us within such 30-day period, the invoice will be deemed accurate and valid. You will also have the option to request additional related services such as the advertisement photograph/image service and/or the Precision-Targeted Email service, as described below, for an additional charge. In such event, you will pay such charges when and as invoiced, in the same manner as the Fee.
Early Termination Credit. If within 90 days after the start of the term of a Reported Lease, the Renter breaks the lease or is evicted for any reason (unless the entire lease term is less than 90 days), the Fee will be reduced to $175, and the excess between the Fee paid by the Property for such Reported Lease and the reduced Fee will be credited toward the next Fees coming due. Otherwise, Rent.com will have no obligation to credit or return any portion of a Fee.
Additional Services. If you like, you may participate in Rent.com's Precision-Targeted Email ("PTE") program. You may apply to have your property featured in these emails, based on market-specific criteria. Your participation in PTE is subject to availability and Rent.com's approval. You must provide and be responsible for the accuracy of the content. Rent.com assumes no responsibility for the success of the email campaign or for your proposed email content. Rent.com reserves the right to change the prices, availability, and format of emails within the program at any time.
Renters. Renters who sign a lease with you for a Property registered under the Pay-Per-Lease Program and then notify Rent.com may qualify to receive a $100 Reward Card or other valuable consideration from Rent.com and/or enter Rent.com's current promotion(s). The $100 Reward Card is not available for Properties registered under the Pay-Per-Lead Program. See Rent.com's Reward Card Policy. There is no charge for a Renter to search for properties on Rent.com; however, Renters must create a registration account. There is no charge for such registration.
General. Rent.com reserves the right to change these fees at any time with 30 days notice by posting those changes on the www.rent.com website; however, no notice will be required for a reduction in fees. Rent.com may choose to temporarily change this Fees and Credits Policy and the fees for services provided for promotional events, and such changes are effective when Rent.com posts the temporary promotional event on the site. Rent.com maintains sole discretionary right to change some or all of its services at any time. In the event that Rent.com introduces a new service, the fees for that service are effective at the launch of the service. Unless otherwise stated, all fees are quoted in U.S. dollars. Users are responsible for paying all fees associated with using the Rent.com service and with using Rent.com's website, and for all applicable taxes.
This Fees and Credits Policy is incorporated into and is made a part of the digital or written advertising agreement between you and Rent.com.
Leads. There is no charge for you to advertise your Property on www.Rent.com (the "Website"). You will pay to Rent.com the specified advertising charge or fee (the "Fee") for each "Lead." A "Lead" is a communication from a Rent.com user to you through Rent.com via email or telephone. Unless otherwise specified, the Fee is the same for each type of Lead. For each Property, you will only be charged for the first Lead sent from a particular user to you within a 90-day period; you will not be charged for multiple Leads from the same user if the user is inquiring about the same Property. If the same user inquires about the same Property more than 90 days after the first inquiry, that user's inquiry will again constitute a Lead and be subject to the Fee. In listing your Property, you must provide accurate and complete contact information so Lead(s) may be sent to you. You will not be charged for telephonic Leads that are not answered, nor will you be charged for telephonic Leads that end less than eight (8) seconds after the call is connected. However, you will be charged for telephonic Leads answered in any mode, such as by a person or by answering machine. You will be charged the Fee regardless of whether the Lead converts to a rental. If the Lead does convert to a rental, you will not be charged additional fees. Given the nature of internet information and usage, occasionally, you may receive a Lead that is not valid for one or more of the following reason(s) (an " Invalid Lead"):
- With respect to an email form of Lead, to be an "Invalid Lead", the phone number and the email address must be incorrect or invalid meaning that a telephone call to the Renter will not connect (regardless of whether the telephone is answered) and an email communication is returned by the email provider as being non-deliverable.
- With respect to a telephonic form of Lead, to be an "Invalid Lead", the telephone call from the renter must terminate in less than eight (8) seconds.
- The Lead is not related to a possible residential rental transaction.
Rent.com will not charge you for an Invalid Lead provided that you report the Invalid Lead within seven (7) calendar days after receipt of the Lead using the Request A Lead Review process. Rent.com will not be able to credit you for any Fees charged for Invalid Leads reported after this deadline. We strongly recommend that you respond to a Lead within a day of receipt – a prompt reply is good for both your leasing program and your Lead management. Provided that Rent.com confirms that the Lead is an Invalid Lead, Rent.com will not charge you for such Lead. Rent.com reserves the right to request additional information in connection with such review. Without limiting the other terms and conditions of our agreement, Rent.com reserves the right to terminate or suspend Property advertisers who abuse the Lead Review Request process.
Activity Period and Timing of Charges. The "activity period," also called the "budget cycle," is the period starting on the date your first Property advertisement is activated on the Website and ending on the date that is thirty (30) days later. For example, if you register on May 10, the first activity period would be May 10 through June 9. The next activity period would start June 10 and end 30 days later, etc. For your convenience, your activity period will be the same for all Properties you advertise under the Pay-Per-Lead Program. Rent.com will charge your designated credit card for all Fees for Leads issued to you during a particular activity period approximately ten (10) days after the end of the activity period (June 19 in the above example). Any Fees not paid when due will accrue interest at a rate of 1.5% per month or the highest rate allowed by applicable law, whichever is lower. You may replace your designated credit card by going to your Billing Information page.
Lead Caps. To assist with your budgeting, for each Property, you may set a cap on the number of Leads you wish to receive in an activity period (a "Lead Cap"). You may increase or decrease your Lead Cap at any time by going to your My Budget page. There is no guarantee you will receive any or a minimum number of Leads. Once you have received a number of Leads in an activity period equal to the Lead Cap or if you decrease your Lead Cap to equal or be below the number of Leads already issued to you in the activity period, your Property advertisement will be deactivated. You will remain liable for Leads issued to you prior to any reductions in your Lead Cap. If you wish to reactivate your advertisement and receive more Leads, you can reactivate your advertisement by increasing your Lead Cap on your My Budget page. At the commencement of the next activity period, the Property advertisement will be reactivated automatically with the Lead Cap last specified by you unless you deactivate your Property. If you have more than one property listing, you can deactivate your listing by signing in as a manager, clicking Select Listing To Edit in the left menu to open the "My Listings" page, and then clicking the "Deactivate" button for the listing you want to make inactive. If you have one property listing, you can deactivate your listing by signing in as a manager, clicking the Overview link in the left menu, and then clicking the "Deactivate" button in the upper right area of the listing overview page.
Posting Period. You will continue to be charged Fees for Leads for so long as your Property advertisement is active on the Website. If you have more than one property listing, you can deactivate your listing by signing in as a manager, clicking Select Listing To Edit in the left menu to open the "My Listings" page, and then clicking the "Deactivate" button for the listing you want to make inactive. If you have one property listing, you can deactivate your listing by signing in as a manager, clicking the Overview link in the left menu, and then clicking the "Deactivate" button in the upper right area of the listing overview page. Please note that there may be a slight delay in the deactivation of the advertisement; in the meantime, however, you will not be charged for any additional Leads that may be sent to you.
Credit Card. When setting up your account on Rent.com, you will designate a credit card for Rent.com to use in charging you for the Fees you may incur by using Rent.com. You may provide alternative credit cards at any time by going to your Billing Information page. You must be an authorized user of such credit cards, and always keep a valid credit card on file with Rent.com. You hereby authorize Rent.com to charge your credit card for Fees and other amounts you owe Rent.com. You understand that the amount charged may vary given that such charges are based on usage.
Renters. There is no charge for a Renter to search for properties on Rent.com; however, Renters must create a registration account. There is no charge for such registration. Renters who rent a Property registered under the Pay-Per-Lead Program will not qualify to receive a $100 Reward Card. See Rent.com's Reward Card Policy.
General. Rent.com reserves the right to change these fees at any time effective when posted on the Website. Rent.com may choose to temporarily change this Fees and Credits Policy and the fees for services provided for promotional events, and such changes are effective when Rent.com posts the temporary promotional event on the site. Rent.com maintains sole discretionary right to change some or all of its services at any time. In the event that Rent.com introduces a new service, the fees for that service are effective at the launch of the service. Unless otherwise stated, all fees are quoted in U.S. dollars. Users are responsible for paying all fees associated with using the Rent.com service and with using Rent.com's website, and for all applicable taxes.
Last updated: August 15, 2008
