FacilGo, a platform specializing in AI-enhanced maintenance and procurement, has launched a feature designed to help property owners and managers recover costs for resident-caused property damage, addressing a notable shift towards longer rental occupancy.
Trends indicate that renters are staying in their homes for extended periods, posing new challenges for property damage cost recovery. A Talker Research study involving 2,000 renters found that the average American renter remains in the same home for four years, with 28% staying over seven years. This contrasts with a decade ago, when 32.2% of renters lived in a single home for less than a year. The study also noted that 41% of baby boomers and 28% of Generation Xers are contributing to this trend, influenced by factors such as anxiety about moving (22%) and viewing rental listing searches as a form of “doomscrolling” (41%).
These extended tenancies increase the likelihood of property damage incidents and lengthen the time between an incident and a resident’s move-out, potentially causing total damages to exceed a traditional security deposit’s value. “People are staying in rented homes longer than ever before, sometimes over ten years, which means a long time can pass between a renter-caused incident and their departure,” stated Ken Murai, founder and CEO of FacilGo. He added that incidents have a higher chance of being forgotten, and security deposits, originally designed for shorter leases, may not adequately cover damages accrued over a decade-long residency.
FacilGo’s AI-powered Resident Chargeback feature aims to address this challenge by facilitating immediate and fair billing for resident-caused property damage. The platform automates the logging, confirmation, and efficient billing of residents for damages or contractor visits not covered by their lease terms. This approach is designed to generate instant Net Operating Income (NOI) for property owners and managers, bypassing the inefficiencies associated with attempting to recoup losses years after a resident has moved out.
By implementing in-residence chargebacks, property teams can avoid the labor and stress of tracking and compiling individual instances of damage for a single, large claim upon departure. This timely billing mechanism also serves to promote responsible occupancy throughout the rental period, making longer stays more financially equitable for property owners while maintaining accountability for occupants.
FacilGo operates as an AI-enhanced platform for various aspects of residential rental property management, including turnover, renovation, maintenance, and call center operations. The platform integrates work orders, procurement, services, bidding, project management, and invoicing into a unified process, aiming to optimize NOI and Return on Investment (ROI) for property companies.
