Ariful Islam/Guwahati

Are you moving to a new city to study or work? You will find it difficult to rent accommodation without being taken advantage of by property dealers who often hold the upper hand in the final deal and also charge a substantial service fee.

Invariably, those seeking affordable and suitable rental accommodation in a city like Guwahati, have to pay a minimum of Rs 500 for showing rental houses or guest accommodations. And if the deal is fixed, 50% of the first monthly rent is paid to the broker. This makes a person feel unwanted in a new and unfamiliar city.

Having gone through this experience, four students from the Gauhati University and Assam Engineering College have developed a special mobile application called 'Roomie'.

The function to mark the launch of Roomie App

This application is designed to make it easier for students and job seekers to find rental accommodation in Guwahati.

The application is developed by Royal Parvez, a student of law at Gauhati University, and three other students of Assam Engineering College Krishnabh Das, Ashique Anowar, and Proyash Paban Sarma Borah. Roomie is an easy-to-use mobile app that helps users find rental and PG (paying guest) accommodation without any brokers or middlemen.

Talking to Awaz-the Voice, the CEO of Roomie Royal Parvez said; "We faced a lot of problems when we first came to Guwahati. We were very disappointed with the rental or PG accommodation. We had to look in many places to stay in a PG of our choice. Eventually, though I found a hostel in Gauhati University we wanted to make this process easier for the future students.”

"Then the four of us discussed if we could involve the owners of PGs or hostels in a mobile app. If students can contact the owners directly in the app and get a rental or PG accommodation, it would not be very convenient for brokers and middlemen to charge money from students who come to Guwahati for study or job," Parvez said.

The app was launched on May 24. So far, 122 owners have registered their rentals on the app and 3,700 students have rented through the app.

Roomie Mobile application

Krishnabh Das, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of the application, said; "Owners of rental houses or PGs have to register through another app called 'Roomie' Landlord App. In this app, owners can provide their facilities. Our Roomy app allows you to see where rentals or PGs are available through maps."

Ashique Anowar, CMO of the Roomie application, said; "We want to start from Guwahati. After Guwahati, we will expand it to other places. We will take it to places where there are more students. The app is free for those who want a place to rent. Our app will save you money to pay to the broker.”

The four talented youths aim to launch the Roomie app initially across Assam and later across India.

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"Our goal is to ensure that everyone new to Guwahati can download the 'Roomie' app and take advantage of it," said Ashiq Anwor.