Till, a website that serves as an intermediary between tenants and investors has raised an $8 million seed round led by Route 66 Ventures, with MetaProp and NextGen Venture Partners joining. 
Till was built on the idea that citizens would not necessarily be able to pay their rent on the 1st of the month, but would be best suited to paying their rent over the month in smaller payments. Till provides a personalized payment schedule for tenants through its flexible rent platform which aligns with its monthly cash flow. It will help minimize evictions by as much as 50 percent before assessments are made.
“We ‘re trying to grasp the spacing so we should look at their cost loads and better offset them whether they’re spending more or more later this month,” David Sullivan, CEO of TechCrunch told Tech.
Till plans to collaborate with the funds to bring more landlords on board in different states, and to further expand the versatile rent offering. Their tenants will now cooperate with Till for the renters to use the site. To date, Till is residing at 170 homes, comprising of a total of 30,000 units across 14 states.
“We have been highly impressed by his ability to cross the divide between the increasingly volatile income and cost habits of tenants and the more static financial realities of landlords since we first heard about Till,” MetaProp General Partner Zak Schwarzman said in a statement. “While the disruption created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic effects persists with no apparent end in sight, it becomes more important than ever that landlords consider fresh, mutually advantageous approaches to partner with tenants to eliminate late fees, mitigate expulsions and foster long-term financial wellbeing for tenants.” Early fees range from State to Landlord. These sometimes arrive in the form of a flat fee or a share of the rent. We are coercive, anyway.
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“Pre-COVID, you have about $50 billion a year in unpaid rent, and landlords are paying only $5 billion in late fees,” said Sullivan. “This is causing hardship for tenants. Which leads to the displacement of three million families in a typical year? And the evictions hit minority populations overwhelmingly.
Conclusion:
Nonetheless, the business model depends on financial instability, as Till’s main customer is someone who is still unable to afford their monthly rental payments. Till pays landlords $3 a month for its adjustable rent plan if they make all their payments on schedule, and $9 a month if they don’t. 
