UK letting agents report a rise in AI-assisted tenant complaints

In short: UK letting agents say they are getting more long, detailed tenant complaints that look like they were helped by AI.

What's going on

Letting agents in the UK say tenant complaints have changed in the past two to three years. Instead of a quick phone call, many now arrive as long email documents. One agent said about 90 per cent of complaints now come by email, often running to multiple pages, and showing signs of being written with AI.

These complaints are often well written and include references to housing law. Agents say the problem is that some of the legal details can be wrong, or taken out of context. Greg Tsuman of Martyn Gerrard said AI can be too eager to agree with the person using it, which may convince renters they have a strong case when they do not.

Ben Stokes from JNP said some AI-written complaints even mention parts of earlier draft versions of England’s Renters’ Rights Act that did not end up in the final law. Propertymark, an industry body for letting agents, said this adds pressure because agents and landlords need time and legal knowledge to check the claims and respond properly.

What to watch

Agents are also using AI themselves, mainly for admin work. Tsuman said his company uses AI to summarise long complaints so staff can reply faster (like getting a short book summary before writing a review).

Tsuman also wants people who complain to the Property Ombudsman to say whether they used AI. Shelter, the housing charity, warned that generative AI tools can make false, incomplete, or misleading statements about the Renters’ Rights Act. Shelter recommends tenants use fact-checked sources such as Shelter and Gov.uk when looking for advice.

Source: Financial Times