Fast Facts & FAQ

At a Glance

Rent.com is based in Santa Monica, CA, and has approximately 100 employees.
Rent.com was purchased by eBay, Inc. in 2005.
Rent.com receives between 3 and 4 million unique visitors per month.
Rent.com was the first ILS to offer pay for performance value with our pay-per-lease program. Property owners and managers with 50+ units per building pay only when we help provide a renter who signs a lease.
In 2010 Rent.com launched a pay-per-listing program which allows owners and managers of properties with 49 units per building or less to list on our site for a flat monthly fee.
The majority of users said that availability data (60%), floor plans (54%), and square footage (52%) were "must have" website features when searching for apartments.

Company Background

Rent.com is the nation's #1 Internet listing site (ILS) in the rental housing industry, enabling renters to find a residential rental property online using a free robust search tool. Rent.com has the most online traffic and the largest inventory of contracted property listings.

Prospective renters can search the site's detailed property listings, including contact information, pricing, photos, floor plans, and virtual tours. With the ability to directly contact property managers, finding the rental housing of your dreams is as easy as 1-2-3.

In addition to providing renters free access to detailed property listings and robust search tools, Rent.com rewards renters with a $100 prepaid Visa® debit card if they: (1) find their property using the Rent.com website, (2) tell the property owner or manager they found their rental home using Rent.com, and (3) report to Rent.com signing a lease with a property that participates in the $100 Reward Card Program.

Milestones

April 2000	Launched as Viva.com with headquarters in Santa Monica, CA.
November 2000	Raised $17 million in funding, led by seven of the largest apartment real estate investment trusts.
May 2001	Purchased Rent.com domain name.
October 2001	Relaunched with the Rent.com name.
July 2002	Turned cash flow positive.
October 2004	Became the most visited national ILS.
December 2004	Announced that Rent.com had been acquired by eBay.
February 2005	eBay acquisition of Rent.com closes.
July 2005	Rent.com hit 3.5 million unique visitors per month.*
December 2005	Increased annual site visits to 35.8 million, an increase of 82% from 2004-2005.*
October 2008	Reached 25,000 contracted property listings on the Rent.com site.
November 2008	Mailed 1 millionth $100 prepaid Visa® debit card.
March 2011	Most visited national ILS for 5+ years running.*
March 2012	PRIMEDIA, Inc. enters into an agreement with eBay to acquire Rent.com

*Source: comScore Media Metrix

Executive Bios

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Rent.com?

Rent.com is a national Internet listing site (ILS) in the rental housing industry that enables renters to find a residential rental property online. Rent.com has the most online traffic and the largest inventory of contracted property listings.

What is Pay-Per-Lease?

Rent.com's business models are fully aligned with the revenue goals of our property customers. For owner's properties that have 50 units or more, Rent.com charges a success fee of no more than $409/lease when renters who find their property on our website sign a lease and move in to one of their vacant units.

Does Rent.com have a program for owners/manager of properties with fewer than 50 units?

For owners with 1-49 units per property, Rent.com charges a flat monthly fee per listing. For properties with 1-10 units it's $49 per month and for properties with 11-49 units it's $149 per month. If a listing does not receive at least 15 leads in 30 days, we will automatically roll-over the listing for another 30 days, or until 15 leads have been received, whichever comes first.

How does Rent.com differentiate itself from its competitors?

Rent.com was the first to launch an online rental resource with a pay-per-lease business model, which is directly aligned with the revenue goals of our customers. We are also the most trafficked ILS and have been since October 2004, per comScore/Media Metrix data. From a renter's perspective, we are the only ILS solely focused on connecting the renter with a rental property that meets their search criteria through a clean interface and a robust search algorithm. Any advertising on our website is relevant to the renter's moving process.

Does it cost anything to search for apartments on Rent.com?

No, searching for apartments is absolutely free. In fact, Rent.com rewards users with a $100 prepaid Visa® debit card if the renter uses Rent.com to find a rental home featuring the $100 reward card, moves in, and reports back to us that they communicated to the property that Rent.com was the source of their signed lease.

What if I don't find properties when I search?

If you're finding that no properties match your search, it's possible that you're being too specific with your search criteria and the exact combination of features you're looking for can't be found among our advertised properties. We suggest that you start with broader search criteria (like location and price) and narrow your preferences from there.

How can I communicate with properties that interest me?

When you register with Rent.com by providing your email address, you will have access to a toll-free phone number to contact those properties that interest you. You can also email the property manager directly through our site by clicking "Check Availability" on the property's full-page advertisement. Each property detail page also has the address of that property.

What do I have to do to get the $100 Reward Card?

Start by using Rent.com to find your new home! If you find a property that features the $100 prepaid Visa® debit card, tell the leasing office that you found the property on "Rent.com" when you visit. After you lease, just report your lease on the Rent.com website and after verifying the information with the property, Rent.com will mail your $100 prepaid Visa® debit card.

Why do some properties feature the reward card while others don't?

Currently, only properties on the Pay-Per-Lease model participate in the $100 prepaid Visa® debit card reward program. All other properties do not.

Why doesn't Rent.com have property listings in my search area?

We feature properties in most major rental markets nationwide. However, we may not currently have properties in all neighborhoods. You may try modifying your search criteria to a slightly broader area, as we may have properties in a nearby neighborhood. We apologize if we do not yet have property listings for the area you're searching. Please check back with us regularly, as we add listings in new areas all the time.