Co-living startup Zolo has started waiving off rental payments of some of its residents who have recently lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per Nikhil Sikri, chief executive of Zolo, the startup will waive off rental payments for eligible residents across all of its 450 properties in 10 cities in India.

And, till now, around 600 out of its 40,000 tenants, who have lost their jobs, have got their rent waived off.

Talking about rent waive off, Nikhil Sikri said,

“While we (management) were talking to the community of residents, we found that most have them weren’t confident in continuing as tenants as they were unsure about their future and finances, especially with pay cuts and layoffs. After consulting with the board and some property owners, we have decided to forgo rental payments completely for few months to remove the financial burden on our tenants.”

Founded by Akhil Sikri, Isha Choudhry, Nikhil Sikri, and Sneha Choudhry in 2015, Zolo is a Bangalore based co-living startup. Till now, the startup has raised around $42 million in equity funding.

Coming back to the news, Zolo is not only waiving off rent but is also offering job placement services in-house for residents, who have lost their jobs, through tie-ups with IT firms and other startups.