Howsy: Landlords and tenants turning to online agents

The platform said that it has seen an uplift in market activity due to the spread of the coronavirus.

Howsy: Landlords and tenants turning to online agents

Landlords and tenants are turning to online agents amid coronavirus, according to lettings management platform Howsy.

The platform said that it has seen an uplift in market activity due to the spread of the coronavirus.

According to Howsy, it has had an easier transition than competitors because landlords can manage their rental properties online through ID verification, contracts, references and 24/7 customer support.

Additionally, the platform has appointed Sue Scammell to the role of chief financial officer and Suzanne Whittingham as chief operations officer.

Scammell is a chartered accountant and has previously worked at Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Broadcom, VC funded biotech business, insurance brokers, fintech startups and a local Almshouse.

Whittingham has experience setting up operations in small, medium and large insurance brokers, including Fortune 500.

Calum Brannan, founder and chief executive at Howsy, said: “As an online business, we’ve always prided ourselves on the ability to pivot quickly with the changing face of the rental sector.

“Of course, we’ve never encountered something to this magnitude but due to our operational agility and many of our existing product offerings, we’ve been able to adapt quickly and with very little disruption to the company as a whole.

“We appreciate that for many tenants approaching the end of a tenancy or looking for a new rental property right now, the limbo we find ourselves in will only be adding to an already stressful situation and we’re on hand to help resolve this issue via our online offering.

“In fact, the increase in demand we’re currently seeing means we are able to up our employment drive.”