PadSplit Review [2025]: Add More Rooms and Income to Your Rental

Do you want to learn how to invest in real estate, but you're leery of the hassles of marketing, management, screening applicants, collecting rent, and resolving tenant disputes?

PadSplit can help you create more rooms (and potentially more rental income) in your rental property by helping connect you with a contractor who can build additional rooms. The platform also advertises and books rooms and processes weekly payments for tenants online in exchange for a cut from property owners.

We'll look at how PadSplit works, who can use it, how much you can earn, common questions, and how to sign up and start renting rooms.

What is PadSplit?

PadSplit offers a marketplace where rental property owners can list rooms for rent for long-term stays. The startup was created in 2017 by Atticus LeBlanc to address the affordable housing crisis by leveraging housing as a vehicle for financial independence. Since its inception, PadSplit has created more than 20,000 rooms and provided homes to over 47,000 people.

PadSplit works with property owners to develop underutilized space in existing rental properties. PadSplit also reports payments through rent reporting service Esusu so renters (called members) can build their credit scores.

Members live in a rental unit similar to a rooming house and pay just one bill each week and receive several incentives, including:

• A private furnished room
• Covered utilities (including Wi-Fi)
• Free credit reporting
• No minimum credit score needed
• No large security deposit

How does PadSplit work?

PadSplit's main priority is to help rental home owners add additional rooms to their property. After you create a hosting account, the platform will help you identify where additional rooms can go and can introduce you to contractors to build them out.

PadSplit's website outlines three main phases a property must undergo before readying for tenants: pre-renovation, conversion, and listing preparation. PadSplit helps with staging your property and adding the right features, such as smart locks, Wi-Fi, heating, air conditioning units, fire stops, and more.

PadSplit will also give you suggestions on how to list your rental property, such as adding parking, and pricing rooms. For example, PadSplit suggests choosing themes for naming bedrooms using neutral words like groups of states, colors, or types of flowers.

Resident management

PadSplit markets runs background checks and verifies the employment and income of potential members. Applicants must:

• Be 18 or older
• Undergo a criminal background check — those with felony convictions in the past seven years will require additional review
• Not have had more than one eviction in the past seven years
• Verify their identity by a third-party provider via valid IDs and Social Security numbers
• Show proof of income or pay membership dues upfront

PadSplit takes care of some aspects of resident management, including tenant screening, phone and chat support, product support, and member termination for escalations or low ratings.

PadSplit Turnkey

PadSplit also offers a turnkey service to help real estate investors look for rental properties to buy in their area. This PadSplit account executive can then help you plan renovations, get it ready to rent, and start welcoming tenants into the space. 

Who can use PadSplit?

Currently, members 18 years of age or older, have valid ID, and proof of income can apply to be a PadSplit member. 

Rooms are offered in most major cities within each state.

Hosts must meet applicable safety standards for their rooms, including smoke detectors in every room, room size equal or greater than 80 square feet, and two points of egress for members.

How much can you earn with PadSplit?

PadSplit offers a calculator you can use to estimate how much you could earn by adding more rooms to your property. It also takes into account your location and breaks down your maintenance and other costs. In one example of listing with PadSplit, converting a four-bedroom unit to a seven-bedroom unit would result in a net income increase from $1,649 to $4,183.

Keep in mind that these numbers will change based on property costs, location, and changes in the rental market. PadSplit cannot guarantee you will achieve these results with your particular property.

Managing your rental business expenses

Getting your spare rooms ready to rent might require some spending. Here's an excellent business credit card we recommend:

Common questions about PadSplit

How to sign up for PadSplit

You can sign up as a host on PadSplit.com. You must certify that you are 18 or older and agree to the terms of use and privacy policy.

PadSplit then moves you through these general steps:

1. Onboard a property. PadSplit helps you find and underwrite a property, or finalize pricing and list your property.
2. Get vetted booking requests. The PadSplit platform displays your home to potential members and screens them.
3. Managing the property. PadSplit provides you with support for member and property management through its various software and tools.

Alternatives to PadSplit

If you're learning how to invest in real estate and you want another entity to handle tenant screening, and marketing inherent in short-term rentals, PadSplit might make sense for you. Other co-living platforms similar to PadSplit include Coliving.com and WeLive.   

Vacation rentals like Vrbo or Airbnb might also be an option for you if you don't have a property you can split into multiple units. Get more ideas for bringing in some extra cash in our how to make money guide and check out some of the best side hustles.