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Rent, the 12-times-a-year installment payment many consumers make, could benefit from splitting further into two payments a month, suggests a study released by Flexible Finance Inc., also known as Flex.
New York City-based Flex commissioned the study, which was completed by San Francisco-based research firm MetroSight. Flex enables tenants to split their rent payments—averaging $1,645 monthly according to Apartments.com—within the month. Researchers found that after analyzing 488 multifamily rental properties containing approximately75,000 units in 25 states, of which 134 properties offered Flex, on-time rent payments were higher by 3% than those not offering Flex.
Their analysis also found that the short-term late rent rate was lower. The share of rents up to 30 days lates was approximately 2.5 percentage points lower.
Flex says the analysis points to the issue of timing for many renters. “Most renters owe rent in full on the first of the month, while most workers are paid every two weeks or twice a month. That structural mismatch, the authors argue, is an overlooked driver of late rent that is distinct from affordability: a household can have the money over the course of a month yet still come up short on the day rent is due,” Flex says.
Flex’s split-rent payments start with a tenant application. Flex pulls a soft credit check to establish a line of credit. If approved, Flex shows the applicant how to split the rent and associated fees. A second payment date is selected that works with the applicant’s paycheck schedule. Flex pays the full amount of rent on the first of each month on the user’s behalf. The user then pays Flex. Debit card payments carry a 1% fee and credit cards a 3.5% fee. Flex charges a $14.99 monthly membership fee to access the Flex Rent line of credit.
“The mechanism of flexible rent payments often is overlooked in housing policy discussions. While affordability remains a central challenge, the timing of rent payments relative to income plays its own critical role in undermining housing stability. The study suggests that interventions helping renters align cash flow with financial obligations can also help prevent short-term payment difficulties and consequent housing disruptions, even with no change in the cost of rent,” the report authors say.
Flex is not the only split-payment option for rent payments. Esusu Inc., a rent-payment platform, is testing offering split rent payments via buy now, pay later provider Affirm Holdings Inc. And Yardi Systems Inc., which develops property-management software, completed an integration with Flex in 2024.
