The encyclopedia · Software & IT · Product decision · 2012–2022
QuintoAndar killed the Brazilian guarantor with data-scored tenants and guaranteed rent
No fiador, no deposit: QuintoAndar scores each applicant, insures the portfolio, and guarantees landlords get paid — cutting lease time from ~40 days to ~4.
QuintoAndar
the move
QuintoAndar was founded in 2012 by André Penha and Gabriel Braga, who met at Stanford's MBA; it started in Campinas and entered São Paulo in 2015 during the real-estate downturn, when renting grew faster than buying. By 2019 it operated in 23 cities and was valued at more than R$1 billion.
The mechanism is a full-service rental platform: QuintoAndar photographs properties, guides visits with partner brokers, processes documents online (no notary), and — its signature — replaces the Brazilian guarantor system. Each applicant is scored with data analysis for financial risk, the whole portfolio is covered by insurance, and the landlord is guaranteed payment on time even if the tenant defaults; damage protection is included. Average time to close a lease: about four days versus about 40 in traditional agencies.
The company also pulled traditional real-estate agencies into the model — 13 partnerships by 2019, paid a share of tenant revenue — which multiplied new contracts sixfold, and offered landlords advance rent to finance renovations. By 2022 it managed R$90 billion in assets with 175,000 active rental contracts in 75 cities and sold more than 1,000 properties a month, valued above US$5 billion.
why it works
- Removing the guarantor unlocks the many renters who cannot provide one.
- Data scoring plus insurance transfers default risk off the landlord.
- Full-service intermediation (photos, visits, documents) raises conversion.
- Partner agencies scale supply without buying a property portfolio.
what transfers
Remove the bottleneck that blocks the transaction — in Brazil, the guarantor — by internalizing the risk: underwrite it with data, insure it, and both sides of the market become easier to serve.
what came after
QuintoAndar raised about US$120 million, was valued above US$5 billion, and took the model to Mexico (Benvi, 2022) after acquiring Navent/ImovelWeb; it extended into purchase-and-sale and mortgage (ATTA) and rental guarantees (Velo), becoming Brazil's largest rental platform — with the no-fiador guarantee as the wedge that opened the market.
references
- A Quinto Andar une o virtual ao real no mercado de imóveis
- QuintoAndar lança operação no México, de olho em expandir vertical de aluguel
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