How Technology and Alliances Are Reshaping India's Rental Sector
From trust deficits to digital confidence, India's rental ecosystem is entering an era of structured growth and innovation.
Sarika Shetty believes technology can transform renting into a trusted financial ecosystem that benefits tenants and landlords alike.
A business leader with more than 20 years of experience in the automobile industry. Sarika has earned recognition for her ability to bring operational efficiency and innovation in service to the table, and she is currently changing the face of rentals in India by bringing technology to the table through RentenPe.
In an insightful conversation with CEO Insights India Magazine, Sarika talked about how RentenPe was changing the urban rental landscape of India by harnessing the power of technology, creating processes, and forging alliances. She spoke about the increasing need for rent scores, efficient payment methods, and protective measures for landlords and customers alike.
To know more about Sarika Shetty's futuristic vision for urban rentals, read the full article given below.
The urban rental market is evolving rapidly, how do you see technology and process innovation reshaping the rental ecosystem for both tenants and landlords in the next five years?
The rental market is finally becoming more structured, and technology is driving that shift. Over the next five years, rent will move from being informal to fully digital, trackable, and meaningful. At RentenPe, we are building simple tools for tenants to pay rent seamlessly and build a verified payment history. At the same time, we offer landlords services like payment tracking, zero-brokerage renewals, e-agreements, and on-time rent insurance so they don’t have to chase payments. We are also introducing protection layers for landlords in case of tenant defaults due to job loss or medical situations. In the next five years, no landlord in India will rent a house without checking a tenant’s rent score—it will become as important as bureau scores like CIBIL or Experian are for lending decisions.
What gaps or inefficiencies did you identify in the traditional rental process that inspired you to create RentenPe and the Residence Car?
We realized that rent, which is one of the largest monthly expenses, was still being managed informally. Tenants were paying consistently, but it wasn’t helping them build any financial identity. On the other hand, landlords faced delayed payments, dependency on brokers for renewals, and no safety net if a tenant defaulted. This gap led us to build RentenPe and the Residence Card™. Today, tenants can pay rent digitally and build their rent score over time. Landlords get structured tools like rent tracking, automated reminders, zero-brokerage renewals, and even rent assurance and coverage options. We are bringing structure, trust, and long-term value into renting.
From concept to execution, how did you design systems and processes that balance transparency, scalability, and customer-centricity while maintaining operational efficiency?
From day one, we focused on making the product simple and practical for both tenants and landlords. For tenants, paying rent is as easy as any online payment, while their payment history gets recorded in the background. For landlords, we built dashboards, automated tracking, reminders, and renewal support so they can manage everything in one place. We also introduced services like e-agreements and rent insurance to reduce friction. Our systems are built to scale, with strong automation and standardized data, so operations stay efficient even as we grow. Continuous user feedback has helped us refine the experience and keep it intuitive.
Leading a startup while having extensive corporate experience, what strategies did you use to build credibility and trust with stakeholders in a traditionally unorganized sector?
In a market like rentals, trust is everything. My corporate experience helped bring structure, discipline, and clear processes into how we built RentenPe. But beyond that, trust had to be earned on the ground. We spent a lot of time understanding both tenant and landlord challenges and solving them consistently. When landlords see timely payments, clear records, and cost savings plus a faster turnaround time to ensure steady rental income, and tenants see their rent building a financial profile, confidence builds naturally. We also partnered with credible institutions to strengthen our ecosystem. Over time, our focus on reliability, transparency, and real problem-solving has helped us build strong trust in an otherwise unorganized sector.
Key Takeaways : What Business Leaders Can Learn from Sarika Shetty
- Solve genuine customer problems before introducing advanced technology.
- Build trust through transparency, consistency, and reliable service delivery.
- Create scalable systems supported by automation and standardized processes.
- Develop partnerships that strengthen customer value and market reach.
- Focus on long-term impact beyond immediate business growth.
As RentenPe grows, how do you approach strategic alliances, partnerships, and collaborations to enhance value propositions and drive long-term growth in the urban rental market?
Partnerships are a key part of how we scale value and reach the right users.
The rental ecosystem is closely connected with housing platforms, financial institutions, and service providers, so we focus on collaborations that strengthen both access and experience.
For example, our partnerships with platforms like MyGate and NoBrokerhood help us get closer to our core users—tenants and landlords within residential communities—making adoption seamless. As we build rent scores, partnerships with financial institutions will enable tenants to access credit and eventually home loans. On the landlord side, we are enabling services like rent protection in case of job loss or hospitalization. Our focus is on long-term value—making renting more secure, predictable, and beneficial for both sides.
LAST WORD: Advice for transforming traditional industries and customer-focused solutions
If you want to disrupt a traditional sector, start by understanding real, everyday problems deeply. Don’t just add technology—fix what is fundamentally broken. In our case, rent was a large financial behavior with no long-term value for tenants and too much uncertainty for landlords. Keep the product simple so adoption is easy, but think long-term about the value you are creating. For us, that’s building a rent score that can help tenants move towards homeownership. Also, focus on trust and consistency—especially in unorganized sectors. Real disruption happens when you create solutions that are useful, scalable, and genuinely improve people’s lives.
"When technology transforms rent from a monthly expense into a measure of trust, it creates opportunities for both tenants and landlords."