Zero Deposit is a true lease insurance that replaces traditional security and pet deposits with a small monthly fee charged to the tenants. It provides significant benefits to both property managers and residents. But how does it work? What do you need to get started? How do I turn on Zero Deposit? How do I know if an applicant qualified? We have you covered!
How does Zero Deposit Work?
Zero Deposit is a true lease insurance product that provides coverage for qualified residents, offering protection for property damages up to 1.5 times the monthly rent (with a maximum rent cap of $6,666).
Rather than paying a traditional security deposit, residents enrolled in Zero Deposit will pay a monthly fee. This fee is determined by a combination of factors, including the resident’s qualifications, the property itself, and your claim history.
As the property management company, you’ll be billed by Aptly and are responsible for billing your residents. You also have the opportunity to generate additional revenue by adding up to a $2/month upcharge per policy. This allows you to offset administrative costs—or simply create a new income stream.
For more details on how residents qualify, check out What is Zero Deposit?.
What Do I Need to Get Started?
There are a few requirements needed to get started with Zero Deposit.
- Aptly Screening
In order to offer a Zero Deposit policy, your residents must go through Aptly Screening. This screening helps detect potential fraud and minimize the risk of bad debt—ensuring it’s safe and responsible to extend Zero Deposit coverage. For more details on Aptly Screening, check out What is Aptly Screening?.
- Lease Package
Lease Packages are required to provide transparency to adhere to many different local and state laws. Additionally, this is where you will be able to charge for your Zero Deposit fee. You can reference this article on How to Setup a Lease Package.
- Lease and Marketing Material Updates
Be sure to update your lease agreement to reflect the use of Zero Deposit in place of a traditional security deposit. Additionally, update any marketing materials to highlight that your property now offers the added benefit of Zero Deposit, helping you stand out to prospective residents.
- Add the Charge Code for Zero Deposit to your Property Management System (PMS)
In order to bill your customers properly for Zero Deposit and fall within local and state guidelines, you will need to add a new charge code to your PMS that clearly states Zero Deposit.
If you have Rentvine, you can push these lease charges from Aptly to Rentvine with the lease package.
How Do I Turn on Zero Deposit?
Your Account Manager will handle most of the setup for enabling Zero Deposit, but there are a few key steps you’ll need to complete on your end:
In order to make these changes you will need to be an Admin.
Update Screening Settings
- Click on your avatar and go to Settings.
- Navigate to Screening Management.
- Expand Applicant Options under Organization Settings.
- Toggle on Show Zero Deposit pre-approval on the applicant report.
Aptly Best Practice: Toggle on Require Zero Deposit on all approved applications. This will ensure that all applicants meet the 2x rent income requirement.
Update Lease Packages
- Navigate to your Applicants Board and click Advanced Settings ⚙️.
- Click Lease Packages.
- Edit an existing Lease Package or create a new one. For the purpose of this article, we will edit our existing package. To do so, click the Pencil icon under Actions on the package you would like to edit.
- Toggle on Zero Deposit.
When do do this, you will see two additional settings appear:
- Zero Deposit on by Default: This plays into your Listing Widget, you can find more information about Listings Widgets in our help article How to Set Up the Listings Widget.
- Zero Deposit Monthly Fee: This is where can enable an optional up-charge of up to $2/month per policy here, allowing you to create a new recurring revenue stream.
How Do I Know if an Applicant is Qualified for Zero Deposit?
- Navigate to your Applicants board and locate the application you want to review.
- Expand the application by clicking the opposing arrows.
- You will see if they qualified for Zero Deposit and their rate.
