Safe, Convenient, and Free: Domklik Introduces a Service for Legally Renting Out Homes
Domklik, an online platform for buying, selling, renting, and securely completing real estate transactions, has launched a new service for property owners. Through Domklik Arenda (Domclik Rentals), landlords can now rent out their homes legally without worrying about fines, paperwork, or administrative hurdles.
Renting out an apartment or private home unofficially always carries risks. Landlords who operate outside the legal framework may face fines and tax liabilities, while the absence of a formal contract can leave them unprotected if property is damaged or tenants fail to pay rent on time. Those risks can largely be avoided by renting property legally. Tenants also benefit by knowing that the landlord has been verified, is financially reliable, and is using properly prepared legal documentation.
It Handles the Hard Work
When a property owner signs up with Domklik Arenda, the service helps them register as self-employed and explains every step required to legalize rental income. It also provides insurance for both the property and rental payments, automatically generates tax receipts, and offers legal support throughout the lease if disputes arise. Just as importantly, the platform performs extensive screening of prospective tenants. To reduce the risk of fraud and nonpayment, Domklik verifies applicants through Sber ID, law enforcement watchlists, and identity documents. Finding a suitable tenant typically takes about seven days. Meanwhile, the service handles the entire administrative workload, including publishing rental listings, filtering spam, and managing calls and messages, allowing landlords to receive a fully prepared result.
If a tenant who has already signed a lease later falls behind on payments, the service compensates the landlord for the missed rent and also covers vacancy periods while a replacement tenant is being found. The agreement also includes reimbursement for property damage of up to 875,000 rubles (about $11,200). Legal rental arrangements already reduced these risks before Domklik introduced the new service, but managing the process independently required numerous administrative steps. Property owners had to register as self-employed, pay taxes, issue receipts, and screen prospective tenants themselves. The new platform now streamlines that process, while its specialists provide guidance at every stage of the transaction.
Everything Is Secure, Without Gray-Market Practices
Domklik's new offering is more than another banking product. It expands the company's PropTech (Property Technology) ecosystem by combining fintech, digital identity verification, online transactions, insurance, and tax compliance within a single platform. For Russia's technology sector, it illustrates how ecosystem-based digital services continue to evolve, allowing a bank and its digital platform to absorb responsibilities that were once divided among lawyers, real estate agents, insurers, and the participants themselves.
For landlords, the new digital service offers several practical advantages. Their legal rights are protected, and they pay nothing directly because the service fee is incorporated into the rental payment. Prospective tenants undergo verification before signing a lease, while landlords become eligible for compensation if rent payments are delayed or property damage occurs. They also receive a legally reviewed lease agreement with transparent terms, and every stage of the transaction complies with applicable regulations. Rental income is reported officially, which may benefit owners in the future when applying for loans or other financial products. Tenants likewise gain confidence that the agreed terms will be honored, allowing both parties to enter the rental agreement with greater security.
More Rental Income Is Likely to Be Reported
The platform has the potential to influence Russia's entire long-term rental market by accelerating the shift from informal arrangements toward digitally managed and legally documented leases. Over time, the service could make the rental market more transparent, broaden the country's tax base, and encourage further innovation in digital real estate services.
That shift is particularly relevant because, according to a DOM.RF study, one-third of surveyed tenants rented housing without a formal lease agreement. Although the platform currently serves only the Russian market, it reflects a broader global trend toward the digital transformation of residential rentals, with online platforms increasingly taking responsibility for identity verification, digital contracts, payments, insurance, and transaction management.
