AI for letting agents
AI for a letting agent earns its place on applicant replies, viewing feedback and landlord updates. It does not decide who can rent, and it should not recite tenancy law that changed in 2026.
The lettings queue
Applicants write in about one property, a budget, a move date and often a pet or a parking space. The useful reply answers those points and offers a real viewing time. A second email after the viewing says what happens next: another property, a holding deposit, or a honest no. Landlords, meanwhile, want to know who came and whether you are waiting on them.
That is drafting and chasing. Referencing results, right-to-rent checks and deposit protection are records a person makes. An assistant can remind you that a certificate is missing. It must not mark a check as passed.
Words that are out of date
From 1 May 2026, new private tenancies in England are periodic assured tenancies under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, and section 21 is not the notice for that new regime. A template that still promises a fixed term, or tells a landlord you will serve section 21, will create a complaint. Scotland and Wales were already on different systems. Use the glossary pages as a warning light, then your own adviser and GOV.UK for the actual rule.
Holding deposits and tenancy deposits are different payments with different caps and different jobs. Name the one you mean. England’s Tenant Fees Act is not the Welsh or Scottish rule. Do not let a model “standardise” a fee across a group that lets in more than one country.
What good follow-up looks like
Same day for a new enquiry. The day after a viewing for feedback. A short landlord note when something has changed: an offer of rent, referencing started, referencing stuck, a move-in date you have in mind. Silence is what makes landlords chase you, and then the phone time costs more than the email would have.
Keep identity documents, bank statements and immigration papers out of the draft. Say “referencing is with the provider” or “the right-to-rent check is still to do”. The landlord can be told the outcome your process allows them to hear, not handed the file.
Where KeyAccess fits
Connect the mailbox the portals deliver to. Draft the applicant reply and the landlord update there, and approve each send. If the lettings software has no direct connection, add it as a website login and test the task. Do not describe that as a partnership with the software company.
Matching an applicant to a property should follow what they asked for: rent, bedrooms, area, pets, move date. It is a rules comparison against your stock, not a guess about the person. Sensitive traits are out of bounds.
Questions
Can it tell a landlord their legal position?
No. Drafts can describe the status of an application. Notices, fees and deposit rules need your firm’s process and, where it is legal advice, a qualified person.
Does it replace our lettings platform?
No. It drafts the communication and can help on a website you log in to, where that site allows it. The platform remains where the tenancy is administered.
What should we stop pasting into prompts?
Passport images, bank statements, and full referencing reports. A reminder that a check is outstanding is enough.