The verdict in three sentences
A custom tenant portal for a social landlord with 14,000 homes costs between EUR 70,000 and 160,000 excl. VAT in 2026, delivered in 6 to 8 months. The decisive line item is two-way integration with the core housing ERP (Ikos, Prem Habitat, Ulis or equivalent): without it, the portal is just another form that creates re-keying. Done well, it cuts inbound calls by about 25%, i.e. 15,000 calls a year out of 60,000, and moves a large share of rent notices to digital.
Line-by-line estimate
Tenants use the portal for three reasons: reporting a technical problem, paying or checking their account, getting a document (certificate, rent receipt). Everything else is secondary at launch.
| Module | Low range (EUR excl. VAT) | High range (EUR excl. VAT) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenant accounts, login, FranceConnect | 8,000 | 15,000 | Linked to the lease by reference and date of birth |
| Repair requests with photos and tracking | 14,000 | 30,000 | Routed to contractor or in-house team by type |
| Tenant account, rent notices, receipts | 9,000 | 18,000 | Real-time reads from the ERP |
| Rent payment by card and SEPA direct debit | 7,000 | 15,000 | Bank PSP, automatic reconciliation |
| Two-way core ERP connector | 15,000 | 40,000 | API or file feeds depending on vendor |
| RGAA accessibility and audit | 6,000 | 14,000 | Initial audit + fixes |
| Customer service back office and statistics | 6,000 | 16,000 | Dashboard per local branch |
| QA, security, hosting | 5,000 | 12,000 | Sovereign hosting in France |
| Total | 70,000 | 160,000 | 6 to 8 months |
The gap between the two ranges depends mainly on the ERP. A vendor with a documented API brings the connector down to EUR 15,000 to 20,000. Flat-file exchange with overnight processing pushes it to EUR 35,000 to 40,000, with data lagging by a few hours.
ERP vendor portal or custom portal
Most vendors offer a tenant extranet module. It is quick to switch on but rarely meets expectations for mobile usability and accessibility.
| Criterion | ERP vendor extranet module | Custom portal | Specialised SaaS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 upfront cost | EUR 20,000 to 50,000 | EUR 70,000 to 160,000 | EUR 15,000 to 40,000 |
| Annual cost | EUR 12,000 to 30,000 licence | EUR 15,000 to 30,000 maintenance and hosting | EUR 1 to 2.50 per home per year, i.e. EUR 14,000 to 35,000 |
| Time to go live | 2 to 4 months | 6 to 8 months | 3 to 5 months |
| Mobile usability | Variable, often dated | Designed for mobile | Good |
| Guaranteed RGAA compliance | Rarely documented | Audit included | Check contractually |
| Journey customisation | Low | Full | Medium |
| Code ownership | Vendor | Landlord | Vendor |
RGAA (France's accessibility standard) is not optional: social housing bodies with a public service mission are covered, and failing to publish an accessibility statement exposes them to a penalty of up to EUR 50,000. A quarter of tenants over 60 use magnification or screen-reading tools.
What it takes to reduce calls
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The 25% drop does not come from the portal alone. You need visible tracking for every request (received, sent to contractor, appointment set, closed), SMS notifications at each step and a mandatory photo for technical requests, which avoids 1 wasted visit in 5. The best-performing landlords reach 35 to 45% of tenants registered in year two, thanks to sign-up drives in local branches and on the paper rent notice.
Mini case study
Sophie, head of customer relations at a Nantes social landlord with 14,000 homes, handles 60,000 calls a year. Fully loaded cost per call handled by the contact centre: about EUR 6.
With 25% fewer calls, savings reach 15,000 x EUR 6 = EUR 90,000 per year. Add paperless notices: 14,000 rent notices x 12 months x EUR 0.90 printing and postage = EUR 151,200 per year. If 40% of tenants switch to digital, the saving is EUR 60,480. Total: about EUR 150,000 per year. For a EUR 120,000 project with EUR 25,000 annual recurring cost, payback comes after 12 to 13 months of full use, around 20 months after project kickoff.
FAQ
Can the portal work with our current ERP? Yes, in the vast majority of cases. A 2 to 3 day technical workshop with the vendor confirms the exchange method (API or files) and narrows the connector budget to between EUR 15,000 and 40,000.
What are the fees for online rent payment? With a bank PSP, allow EUR 0.20 to 0.40 per card payment and EUR 0.10 to 0.30 per SEPA debit. For 14,000 homes with 30% paying online, that means EUR 10,000 to 20,000 per year.
Do we need a native mobile app? Not at launch. A progressive web app covers 95% of use cases and avoids EUR 25,000 to 50,000 of iOS and Android development.
How do we serve tenants who are not comfortable with digital tools? The portal does not replace the front desk or the phone. Plan an assisted journey in branches and plain language, tested with 10 to 15 tenants before launch.
What is a realistic timeline? 6 to 8 months, including 6 to 8 weeks for the ERP connector and 3 weeks for the RGAA audit and fixes.
Let's scope your project. Send us your number of homes, your core ERP and your call volumes: we will price the portal between EUR 70,000 and 160,000 excl. VAT with a 6 to 8 month schedule. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
