RENT.COM.AU LTD (RNT) - What If Paying Rent Worked For Renters Too

Paying rent should be simple, but for millions of Australians it is anything but. Bonds can demand weeks of rent upfront, payment options are often rigid, and renters are left stitching together workarounds just to secure a home and stay on top of weekly costs. We sit down with Jan Ferreira, CEO of Rent.com.au Limited, to unpack how a renter-focused fintech platform can reduce that friction and build a more sustainable business at the same time.

Jan walks us through Rent.com.au’s shift from a rental search portal into a full-service renter platform, anchored by two flagship products. RentBond® is built to bridge the bond gap when renters need to stump up funds before they have even moved out of their current place, including a 21-day repayment window that can be fee-free. RentPay tackles the ongoing grind of rent payments by letting renters choose how and when they pay, across methods like bank transfer, direct debit, credit card, PayPal, and Alipay, while still delivering rent to agents in the way and timing they prefer.

We also dig into the size of the opportunity, with tens of billions in annual rent flows and rents rising sharply, and what that means for product adoption, partnerships, and repeat usage. Jan explains how expanded lending capacity and bringing loans in-house can lift revenue and profit, why recurring revenue changes predictability, and the milestones the team is targeting on the path to positive group EBITDA and cash flow before the end of 2026.

If you care about the future of renting in Australia, fintech in the property ecosystem, or how ASX-listed platforms grow recurring revenue, listen now. Subscribe, share this with a mate who rents, and leave a review, what feature would make renting less stressful for you?

Transcript

Andrew Musgrave

Welcome again to ASX Briefs, the podcast bringing you quick, insightful conversations with leaders of ASX listed companies. And today we're joined by Jan Ferreira, the CEO of Rent.com.au Limited, Australia's leading technology platform purpose-built to meet the financial and digital needs of the country's eight million renters.

Jan, thanks for joining me today and welcome to the ASX Briefs Podcast.

Jan Ferreira

Thanks for having me, Andrew.

Andrew Musgrave

Now Jan, Rent.com.au has evolved significantly from a search portal into a full-service financial platform for renters. So, can you give us an overview of your two flagship products, RentBond® and RentPay, and how they address the universal pain points of the Australian rental market?

Jan Ferreira

Yes. So, we, as you said, we're building a complete renter platform, starting with making it easier for renters to pay, whether it's their bonds, their rent, or any other home-related costs. And RentBond® and RentPay are two key parts of this platform. RentBond® helps renters bridge the bond gap. So, when they have to stump up at least six weeks' rent just to secure a property before they've even moved out of their previous rental, we lend them the money to do that. And if they repay the loan within 21 days, it's absolutely free for them. No fees, no charges, no interest. If not, then it just continues as a fixed interest loan for as long as they like. RentPay is all about choice and flexibility in payments. So, renters pay us how they want, whether that's bank transfer, direct debit, credit card, PayPal, Alipay. Like we've got a very broad range of payment choices. And they pay us when they want. So, whether that's weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or ad hoc. And what we do is we then make sure that the rent gets paid to the agent when the agent wants it and via the agent's preferred payment method.

Andrew Musgrave

Okay, and with one third of Australians now renting and that figure to rise to 60% for those under 35, how massive is the addressable market you're targeting in terms of annual rent and bond flows?

Jan Ferreira

It is a very massive market and it's very underserved. So, every year there's about $85 billion of rent paid in Australia, and that has been growing rapidly. More and more people are renting all the time. And on top of that, rents are also increasing rapidly. The average rent is up 40% in the last five years.

Andrew Musgrave

Okay, and you've just announced a successful expansion of your debt facility with the Eldium Income Fund to $15 million. So how does this increased capacity, combined with your move to fund more loans from your own cash, accelerate your path to higher profit margins?

Jan Ferreira

So, when we made the decision to bring RentBond® in-house, so previously we just used to refer customers to a third party. But by bringing it in-house, we're generating six times the revenue from RentBond® and about three times the profit. So, more loans mean more revenue and more profit for us. And having the increased capacity to lend means we can write more loans. So, it just flows straight through to the bottom line.

Andrew Musgrave

Okay, and RentBond® saw a record quarter with over three million in new loans written. So, what is driving the volume? And how does your new referral partnerships with large property listings portals play into your target of 50% or more lending growth?

Jan Ferreira

Well, the pleasing thing for us was that record loan volume came from existing customer demand. So, we've only been lending for about eight months now and getting better and better at it each month. So, we expect that we can keep growing from existing customers. We can keep growing at least 50% more. On top of that, the referral partnerships then add more customers. So, the growth is actually beyond that 50% will be from additional referral partnerships through listings, portals, and other software providers. And then the next acceleration of growth beyond that is from repeat business from those customers, as well as cross-selling them onto other products within the platform to drive further growth.

Andrew Musgrave

Now, looking at your financials’, total recurring revenue has grown over 155% year on year. How does this predictable income stream change the risk profile of the business as you head towards your target of $1.8 million in monthly revenue by quarter to FY27?

Jan Ferreira

So strong recurring revenues improve the predictability of our results. That allows us to think and aim bigger and longer term with new initiatives, thereby growing faster overall.

Andrew Musgrave

Now, just to wrap things up, Jan, with a strong cash position and improving EBITDA, you've stated that the goal is to achieve positive group EBITDA and cash flow before the end of 2026. So, what are the most critical milestones your team is focused on to meet that deadline?

Jan Ferreira

Execution of our plan is key. Investors should expect to see us consistently step-up revenue and profitability each quarter towards those year-end goals. Beyond just the financial metrics, further margin accretive products are being rolled out on the platform to provide further catalysts for growth. Examples of these include savings and investment products, other credit products, and further subscription-based functionality.

Andrew Musgrave

Okay, Jan. Well, it's been great to chat today. So, thanks for joining me on the podcast. It sounds like a pivotal year ahead as you continue to build out Australia's leading renter platform.

Jan Ferreira

Thanks, Andrew. It is a pivotal year for us, but we're very well placed to achieve those the goals that we've set for ourselves and then to leap further ahead.

Andrew Musgrave

That concludes this episode of ASX Briefs. Don't forget to subscribe, and we look forward to catching you on our next episode.