RentCafe goes DOWN leaving thousands unable to pay landlords
RentCafe, a platform that helps people pay their landlords, is offline across the US.
Thousands of Americans have been blocked from paying rent on the first of the month due to the app and website outage.
Users in California, New York, Texas and Colorado have reported issues, along with other states across the country.
While the exact number of renters affected is unknown, RentCafe reported that it receives more than 80 million visits annually.
Many Americans are having trouble using a rent-paying app on the day most landlords collect
Renters flocked to Reddit on Tuesday to share news of the problem and see if others are experiencing the same problems.
The first message, shared around 2:45 PM ET, reads: “Is this for anyone else or just me? I know a lot of apartment buildings use it in Kalamazoo.”
The thread has since been filled with comments from residents of Georgia, Arizona, Ohio and other states, where residents also can’t pay their rent.
“In Texas, I’ve been trying to pay my first month’s rent since this morning, but the app and site are still down,” one Redditor said.
‘Good luck to all of you who experience the same thing all day long, error code 500 id similar to Rentcafe’s servers telling us ‘it’s not you, it’s me’. What’s wrong with the server on their end and how long it will last is another matter.’
Some tenants have been told by landlords that their payments will not be considered overdue until October 5, so they still have time to pay even if the platform is unavailable.
However, one user said they spoke to the manager of their apartment, who said RentCafe “should be fixed tomorrow.”
The platform allows users to set up one-time payments for the rental, as well as enable automatic payments.
RentCafe also helps people find apartments, contact real estate rental agencies and schedule tours.