Real Estate Startup Zumper Launches Zapp, So Renters Can Apply For Apartments In-App

Apartment listing startup Zumper has spent the last several years building apps to help connect brokers and property managers with prospective tenants and vice versa. Today it’s launching a new application called Zapp that will simplify the process of not just finding, but also applying for, their next apartment.

Zumper, which was a Disrupt Battlefield finalist, began by building tools aimed at real estate professionals to help them quickly list their available properties. And on the consumer side, it provides a way to search for apartments and request viewing times from brokers.

Now available on the web, iOS and Android, Zumper has closed the loop between renters and brokers. But there’s more value it can provide to both sides, starting with helping prospective tenants to easily and quickly apply for apartments and run their credit scores through Zapp.

With Zapp, the company has created a standard credit report and rental application that will enable renters to fill out their information once and then be able to submit it to brokers and property managers. To get the service working, Zumper has partnered with Experian to handle the credit check portion of the application.

It’s free to fill out an application and $10 to run a credit score, which is a huge discount over most rental application processes. Once it’s filled out, users can resubmit it for other listings they might want to apply to.

Listings on the Zumper platform will be marked with a badge to show they will accept the Zapp rental application. Users can also share their applications for listings that aren’t guaranteed to take them. By doing so, the company hopes to get more brokers signed up to accept them.

To start, the Zapp application will be rolling out in beta on the web and Android, with an iOS app coming soon. Listings accepting the application will also be limited to the San Francisco Bay Area, and on about 15 percent of listings there, before rolling out nationally later on this year.

Zumper has raised about $8 million in funding from investors that include Kleiner Perkins, Dawn Capital, NEA, the De Wilde Family Trust, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock, CrunchFund, and The Experiment Fund.