🏠 How Rent Payments Work with Rentfree

Paying rent through Rentfree isn’t just easy — it’s rewarding. We turn your largest expense into a chance to earn valuable rewards, improve your financial standing, and remove the stress from rent day. Here's a step-by-step breakdown of how the Rentfree rent payment process works.

Step 1: Set Up Your Rent Payment Schedule

To get started, just follow the easy account setup process in the Rentfree app. When setting up rent payments, you’ll be prompted to enter the following details:

Rent amount
Payment frequency (monthly, fortnightly, or weekly)
Start date (we recommend setting this a few days before your landlord’s deadline to allow for processing time)
Recipient details:
- For bank transfers; BSB and account number for your Property Manager
- Reference or description (e.g. your name, or address, if required by your Property Manager)
- For BPay; your Property Manger’s biller code and reference number.

You’ll only need to enter this once — but you can edit it later if your rent changes or set up a new rent schedule if you move to a new place.

Step 2: Choose Your Payment Method

You currently have two secure options for making rent payments, with more payment options on the horizon:

Option 1: PayTo (from your bank account)

Enter your PayID or bank account details (BSB and account number).
We’ll send your rent schedule to your banking app.
Authorise your rent payments from within your banking app—we handle the rest.
PayTo is fee-free, real-time, and highly secure with support for high-value recurring transfers.
You can view and manage your PayTo rent agreement in both Rentfree and your banking app.

Option 2: Credit or Debit Card

Flexible, with the ability to enable auto-pay or manage rent payments manually with the pay now feature.
Fees apply (usually a small pass-through fee per transaction), clearly shown before confirming.

You earn the same rewards on rent using either method, based on your chosen frequency:

Weekly = 250pts

Fortnightly = 500pts

Monthly = 1,000pts

You can conveniently switch, or update payment methods anytime in your rent settings.

Step 3: Payment Processing & Timing

Once your setup is complete:

Rentfree automatically processes your rent on the scheduled day, if you’re setup with PayTo as your payment method or have credit/debit card set to auto-pay.
You can track your upcoming rent payments in the Rent tab of the app. There, you'll see your next scheduled payment date and the estimated arrival date—the day your Property Manager is expected to receive the funds.
You can manually make rent payments by tapping the “Pay Now” button in the Rent tab of the app. This lets you make one-off payments using your credit or debit card, ahead of your regular schedule.

Card payments can take between 2-3 days to reach your property manager, so make sure you leave enough time.

Payment Timing: What to Expect

When your scheduled rent payment is triggered, Rentfree processes it in two stages:

Pay-in: Rentfree collects the funds from you using your selected payment method — either PayTo or credit/debit card.
Payout: Once received, Rentfree sends the funds to your property manager via bank transfer or BPAY, depending on the method provided during setup.

Here's what that looks like by payment method:

PayTo (Bank Account)

Funds are typically debited instantly once the payment is triggered.
After the debit, Rentfree initiates a bank transfer or BPAY to your property manager.
Total end-to-end time: Usually 1–2 business days until the payment arrives.
If you choose for your payments to Start today, you must authorise before 11:59 pm AET. Authorisations after this run from your next scheduled date.

Credit or Debit Card

Card is charged and funds are received by Rentfree within a short processing window.
Rentfree then initiates a bank transfer or BPAY payout to your property manager.
Total end-to-end time: Usually 2–3 business days, depending on card network and bank processing times.
Card payments carry a small pass-through fee, always disclosed at the time of payment.

Payment Stages

Processing: Your payment has been initiated, and received by us.
Sent: We’ve processed your rent payment and sent it to your property manager.
Failed: A payment failed to process due to insufficient funds or some other reason.
Missed: Your failed payment was not addressed within 7 days of failing. You will not be able to take any further action in the Rentfree app to address this payment.

We recommend setting your rent payment date a few days before it's due to ensure on-time arrival. To avoid delays, ensure your card or bank account has sufficient funds.

Step 4: Earn Rentfree Rewards

Every rent payment you make through Rentfree earns you base rent points, regardless of the payment method used.

Here’s how it works:

You earn points based on your rent payment frequency:
- 250 points per week
- 500 points per fortnight
- 1,000 points per month
These points are awarded and pending just for successful payments made with Rentfree — whether by PayTo or credit/debit card. The points are the same, no matter which method you use.
For the first 3 months of your membership, you will enjoy rent and tier based rewards without any obligations, while you get used to the app.
After your grace period end, simply make at least 5 non-rent payments in the Rentfree network, or spend $150 of cleared transactions within the calendar month to clear and use your rent and tier based rewards accrued in the period. You can track progress in the app.
PayTo is free and our recommended method, while credit/debit card payments incur a small pass-through fee (Rentfree doesn’t monetise rent payments).

Boost Your Rewards with Non-Rent Spend

Your base rent points can be multiplied up to 4X based on:

How much you spend at Rentfree merchant partners
Your non-rent spend within your membership year determines your tier level on the platform (e.g. Platinum = 4X base rent points multiplier)
Your tier comes with additional benefits including additional points you can earn per every $ spent in the network

That means you can earn up to 4,000 rent points per month just by making smart everyday purchases with your linked card.

Rewards are typically visible in your account straight away, or within a couple of days, and clear once you’ve made at least 5 non-rent payments, or spend $150 that clears within the calendar month. You can track your rent activity in the Rent tab of the app.

Step 5: Secure, Tracked, and Transparent

Every transaction is encrypted and protected via PCI-compliant systems.
You’ll get real-time updates for every step: when payment is initiated, processed, and when sent to your property manager.
You can view payment history, details, and reward earnings inside the app.

Managing or Editing Your Rent

Need to update your rent setup? In the Rent section, you can:

Edit the amount, due date, or payment method
Cancel and create a new rent schedule if you’ve moved places or if your situation has changed
View upcoming, past payments and payment status

FAQs & Troubleshooting

What if my rent payment fails?
You’ll get an immediate alert. We will retry once with auto-pay method, within 24 hour and you can retry by preforming a manual payment using a card, noting that card processing times can take between 2-3 business days to reach your property manager.

Can I split my rent with a housemate?
Yes! Just treat your Rentfree account like your own personal rent wallet. You can pay your share through your Rentfree account, and your roommate can do the same through theirs—no need to split the payment within a single account.

Is there a maximum payment limit?
Card limits may apply depending on your bank. PayTo supports large amounts, making it ideal for rent.

Will my Property Manager know the payment is from me?
Yes. Use the reference field to insert the reference provided by your Property Manager (e.g. “John A – Apt 3B”) during setup to help your landlord identify your payments. BPAY payments contain built in reference numbers.

Help center