How HouzRent works
HouzRent puts landlords, tenants and the artisans who fix things on one platform — with verified identities, a wallet for rent, deposits held in escrow, and a record of everything.
Who it's for
| You are… | You use HouzRent to… |
|---|---|
| A tenant | Sign your rental agreement, pay rent from your wallet, save towards next rent with Rent Pot, protect your caution fee, and report repairs. |
| A landlord | Manage properties, bring tenants in, send rental agreements, receive rent straight into your wallet, handle deposits fairly, and get repairs done. |
| An artisan | Receive repair jobs from landlords, quote, arrange visits with tenants, and build a track record. |
One account can be both a landlord and a tenant — for example if you own a flat in Lekki and rent in Abuja. You switch between the two dashboards with one tap. See Your account & NIN.
A tenancy from start to finish
Landlords can list a vacant property on HouzRent Homes. Tenants can search, book a viewing and agree an offer; accepting an offer starts the tenancy. Landlords can also bring tenants in directly with an invite or check-in.
- Both sides verify their identityEvery landlord and tenant confirms their NIN when they sign up.
- The landlord adds the property and brings the tenant inWith an invite link or by finding the tenant's account. The tenancy terms — rent, caution fee, dates — are set here.
- The tenant signs the rental agreementDigitally, with their full name. Both sides can download it any time.
- The tenant paysThe first payment covers rent and the caution fee. Rent goes to the landlord's wallet; the caution fee goes into escrow.
- Life during the tenancyRent reminders before each due date, Rent Pot savings, repairs reported and tracked in the app.
- Moving outThe landlord releases the caution fee, or raises a claim that the tenant can accept, counter or dispute.
How money moves
Everyone has a HouzRent wallet in naira. Money comes in by card or bank transfer top-up, moves between wallets inside HouzRent, and goes out to a Nigerian bank account.
- Rent moves from the tenant's wallet to the landlord's wallet the moment it's paid.
- Caution fees are held in escrow — not by the landlord — until the tenancy ends.
- Rent for a landlord who isn't on HouzRent yet is held until they claim it, and returned to the tenant if they don't. See Landlord not on HouzRent?
- Repair charges are only ever taken from a tenant's wallet after the tenant approves them.
Details in Wallet, top-ups & withdrawals.
What keeps it safe
- Verified identities. NINs are checked through iCheck against NIMC records. We store a one-way fingerprint of your NIN, never the number itself.
- Escrow. Caution fees and held rent sit with HouzRent, not with either party.
- Verified artisans. An artisan must verify their NIN before they can accept a job or see a tenant's address.
- A shared record. Payments, agreements, repairs and messages are all kept in one place both sides can see.
More in Security & privacy.