Questions people ask before their first rental
Pickups, deposits, damage, payouts, and who you are actually dealing with.
Getting started
No. The app is free to download and free to browse. You only pay when you rent something, and what you pay is the rental cost the owner set plus applicable fees.
Hive5 operates in the United States. Because rentals are hand-to-hand, what you can rent depends on what neighbors near you have listed, so the app is most useful where the community is already established, and we are expanding to more places.
Yes. Every member completes an ID verification check before they can rent or list an item. It is the reason you are meeting a verified neighbor rather than an anonymous listing.
Renting
Open the Hive5 app and it shows you the items available near you. Find the one you want and send a request to rent it. If you would rather browse first, the categories page on this site lists the kinds of items people are renting out.
Post a request in the app. Members near you are notified that someone is asking, and anyone who owns one can offer it. The item only has to exist in a neighbor's garage, not in a listing.
The whole pickup runs through the Hive5 app. Use the app to agree on a time and place with the owner. When you meet, examine the item in person, use the app to pay the rental cost, and take it with you.
Leave it. Hive5 only deducts your payment after you have examined the item in person, so you are not out of pocket for something you decided not to take.
You return the item to the owner at the agreed time. The owner inspects it, and if everything is in order your deposit is released.
Lending
The Hive5 app asks you a few questions about your item and takes it from there. Listing takes minutes, and you set your own price.
You do. The owner sets the rental price and the security deposit on their own listing. Hive5 does not set prices for you.
You receive the order and confirm the pickup time and location with the renter. Bring your item and meet them. Being on time matters as much here as it does anywhere else.
When you collect your item you inspect it in the app. If it is not in the condition you sent it out in, you can charge the renter for the damage they caused.
The app reminds both of you when the return is due. If the renter does not show up within the allotted time window, the app reschedules the return for the next day, and you can charge late fees from the security deposit hold. If they do not show up three times, you can claim the whole security deposit.
After three no-shows from the renter at the return, Hive5 treats the item as stolen and you can claim the entire security deposit to compensate for your item.
Yes. Hive5 has pro-inventory tools for rental businesses, and adding Hive5 as a channel does not disrupt your existing systems, pricing, or workflows. See the partner page for how to get set up.
Payments & Safety
Connect a Stripe account once, and Hive5 transfers your earnings to it within 30 days.
The deposit is held for the length of the rental and released once the item comes back safely. If there is damage, the owner can charge against it after inspecting the item.
After you return the item and the owner inspects it. If everything is in the condition it went out in, the held funds are released. If it is not, the owner can charge for the damage and the rest is released.
Nothing changes hands, and nothing is charged. Payment is only deducted once you have met and examined the item in person. If someone repeatedly does not turn up, report it in the app: a real person reviews every report, and ratings after each rental mean a pattern of no-shows follows the account.
Every member completes an ID verification check before renting or listing, and renters and owners rate each other after every rental, so the person you are meeting carries a track record.
A real person reviews every report submitted through the app, and we take serious action where our policies have been violated.