doMate

Connecting compatible and reliable tenants with professional, efficient and reputable shared-flat landlords. That is the aim of doMate, the app devised and launched by three students from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), which aims to become a benchmark – first nationally and then across Europe – for a key process in a market where information is scarce when it comes to making decisions that, in hindsight, shape years of one's life for better or for worse.

"Living together in a flat shouldn't be a gamble." This is the idea that sprang from the mind of Arnau Bernabéu Corbí, a student on the Master's Degree in Telecommunications Engineering at the UPV, and which two friends and recent graduates of the UPV's Double Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Management + Informatics Engineering, Juan Company Canet and Samuel Ruiz Tébar, have helped him turn into reality.

Living together, communication, conflicts… challenges to be resolved that arise after finding a place to live

"The idea came to me in my second year of degree," recalls Arnau", I'd experienced first-hand what it's like to share a flat with strangers and realised that the real challenge comes after finding a place to live: living together, communication, conflicts. That was the problem worth solving. I wanted to build something back then, but between lectures and projects, I didn't have the time to take the idea forward, so I put it on the back burner and picked it up again at the start of my master's degree."

"In September 2025, he adds, "I told Juan about it – he's been a friend of mine since our secondary school days in Alcoy – and we decided to get down to work. We made good progress on the business and product side. In mid-March, we met Samu, who rounded out the team with his technical expertise and fit in from day one. Since then, the three of us have been working full-time to launch the aap, which is now a reality.

Free for tenants: "Passing on costs to those looking for a flat would go directly against what we're trying to solve"

One of the hallmarks of doMate is that it's free for tenants. "In Spain, we have a serious problem with access to housing, and passing on costs to those looking for a flat would go directly against what we're trying to solve," explains Arnau.

Furthermore, "to ensure the community grows quickly and on a solid footing, the app is also free for landlords and estate agents during the first few weeks"

Two free listings per landlord and estate agent

"From then on," he points out, "we launched the final model: private landlords will be able to list up to two flats for free, and will pay a fee for each additional flat, while estate agents' prices will be based on the volume of listings they manage In any case, the model applies equally to private landlords and estate agents: two free listings and a fee for each additional flat. We want private individuals to have the same conditions as a large real estate."

"Visibility isn't bought, it's earned"

Another distinctive feature of doMate is promotion. On the app, "visibility isn't bought, it's earned A landlord or estate agent stands out because they accumulate good reviews from the tenants they've dealt with, and that reputation is what opens doors for them within the platform. "The system rewards those who behave well," says Arnau Bernabéu.

In any case, Arnau explains, "we need to distinguish between two connections that are actually equally important, although people often only think of one. On the one hand, the connection between the tenant and the landlord. Here, what makes the difference is real information: that the tenant can see how that landlord has behaved towards previous tenants (through the reviews) and that the landlord can see the tenant's history – whether they have looked after their flats, whether they have got on well with others, and whether they are reliable with payments. With this information, both parties can make informed decisions, and the " ‘let's see who I end up with’ lottery disappears."

"On the other hand – and this is one of the key features of doMate – is the connection between the flatmates themselves," emphasises the UPV student. "This is the aspect most often overlooked in the market, and the one that most determines whether a flat-sharing arrangement works or falls apart after three months. That's why we do matching based on genuine compatibility: we cross-reference personality, routines and lifestyle so that the system prioritises showing people with whom it really makes sense to share a flat. Finding the right person to live with is the challenge we solve," says Arnau.

Everything happens within doMate

As for management, another key aspect: everything happens within doMate. "Nothing is redirected outside the app. The tenant finds the flat, makes contact, communicates, resolves issues and finalises the agreement all via the app. That's one of the keys to the project: centralising the relationship within a single channel, with privacy for both parties, traceable communication and a reputation system that draws on the entire history of interactions," explain the creators.

From Alcoy to the whole world

doMate has been launched "in Alcoy and the university area around the UPV in Valencia, which are the hubs where we have a community and the capacity to closely support the launch, although the plan is to expand to the rest of the Valencian Community by the end of the year and, if all goes well, to go national in 2027", says Arnau, who makes no secret of the fact that the goal is far more ambitious: "We want doMate to be the infrastructure upon which a fairer coexistence is built in the shared accommodation market. First in Spain, then in Europe, and eventually, an international benchmark in a space that nobody is currently occupying."

The importance of the UPV environment

The environment has also been key to the creation of doMate "We've been in contact with the UPV right from the start. The School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSIT-UPV) helped us with the communications side, and we got in touch with IDEAS UPV at the start of the academic year for advice on the business model. We have built the project ourselves, but we've held occasional meetings with them to run our decisions past them. The fact that there is a structure like IDEAS within the university makes all the difference for projects like ours," concluded the mastermind and co-founder of an app that aims to alleviate a major global problem.