Rent with a lower deposit. A neighbor who trusts you backs you.
If you don't have a track record on VAKA yet, a real person with a good reputation can back your rental: your security deposit drops to 15% of the item's value.
Neighbor Backer
A real person, with a real track record, answers for you up to the amount they consented to.
How it works
Three steps, with explicit consent in the middle. No one backs anyone without knowing exactly for how much.
Choose your Neighbor Backer
When you book, you propose a neighbor who meets the requirements as your Neighbor Backer. They receive the request with the item, its value, and the exact maximum amount they would answer for.
They accept with explicit consent
Your Neighbor Backer reads the agreement, sees the maximum amount, and accepts it by confirming their payment method. Without their express consent there is no backing: no one backs without knowing it.
You rent with a 15% deposit
Your deposit drops to 15% of the item's value (minimum USD 25). If the rental ends with no claims, your deposit is returned in full and your Neighbor Backer pays nothing.
Who can be a Neighbor Backer?
Not just anyone. We ask for a real track record within VAKA, because backing from someone with an earned reputation is worth it.
Rating of 4.7 or higher
Average of reviews from other neighbors, earned rental by rental.
15 completed rentals
Enough track record to know how they behave on the platform.
Verified identity
Official document and selfie approved by our team.
Also: a maximum of 3 active backings per neighbor, no reciprocal backings, and no accounts that share a device. After a charge from a claim, the Neighbor Backer goes through a pause period before being able to back again.
Why it exists
Less deposit from your very first rental
Without a track record you'd pay 50% of the item's value as a deposit. With an active Neighbor Backer you pay 15%, from day one.
Trust between real people
When your track record on VAKA doesn't speak for you yet, someone who knows you does: a real person with a reputation earned rental by rental.
No cost if there's no claim
Backing costs nothing. The Neighbor Backer only answers if an approved claim exceeds the deposit, and only up to the amount they consented to.
The Neighbor Backer is one of the five protections of VAKA Shield: if an approved claim exceeds the deposit, the Neighbor Backer answers for the difference. How a claim is opened and resolved is in the Claims Policy.
Frequently asked questions
The Neighbor Backer is a voluntary co-responsibility agreement between neighbors, documented with explicit consent. It is not insurance or a policy, and VAKA is not an insurer. The Neighbor Backer responds only up to the amount they consented to, when an approved claim exceeds the security deposit. The complete formal agreement is in the Neighbor Backer Agreement.
Do you have someone who trusts you?
Propose your Neighbor Backer at the time of booking. And if you're the one who meets the requirements, you can already back your own.
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