"As AI matures in the property sector, supporting all key stakeholders, including letting agents, landlords, and inventory providers, with ethical, transparent, and legislation-aware tools will be essential to securing trust and enabling responsible adoption"
- Sian Hemming-Metcalfe - Inventory Base
A new survey from Inventory Base has revealed that a significant portion of UK letting agents are taking a cautious approach to adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in their operations. Over half (53%) of agencies have stated that they have no plans to implement AI or automation in the near future.
The survey, commissioned by Inventory Base, sought to understand the current use of AI within the lettings industry, areas of adoption, and the overall sentiment surrounding the technology. Despite some agents exploring AI’s potential, concerns about its impact on tenant relationships seem to be slowing widespread adoption. Many within the sector are calling for AI systems to be tailored to the specific needs of the industry, focusing on compliance and tenant care rather than broad automation that could disrupt existing workflows and human connections.
According to the survey, just 12% of lettings agents have adopted AI “extensively,” while 15% are using it “to some extent.” Another 21% are considering AI adoption but have not yet implemented it. However, the majority of agents, 53%, have no intention of adopting AI at all.
Where AI is being used, its focus is predominantly on marketing and lead generation (44%), followed by tenant screening (17%), automated messaging or chatbots (17%), and, to a lesser extent, maintenance handling (11%) and compliance checks (11%).
Despite these applications, the survey found that 72% of respondents were most concerned about the “loss of human touch in tenant relationships,” a worry that outweighed concerns about data privacy (11%), system accuracy (11%), and job displacement (6%). This sentiment is particularly important for inventory providers, whose on-site presence serves as a neutral and trusted point of contact for tenants during move-ins and move-outs. As such, AI tools need to complement, not replace, the professional judgment and observational accuracy provided by these human interactions.
When asked about AI’s impact on tenant relationships, only 18% of agents believed it improved the relationship. Meanwhile, 36% felt that AI negatively affected the landlord-tenant dynamic, 18% said it did so slightly, while 18% said it undermined the relationship significantly. Nearly half (47%) of agents felt AI had no impact at all on tenant relationships.
A striking finding from the survey was that 76% of letting agents reported having received no formal training or guidance on how to use AI responsibly and in compliance with lettings legislation. Only 6% had received comprehensive training, and another 6% had received limited guidance. This lack of structured education may contribute to the reluctance to adopt AI, particularly given concerns about legal compliance. 27% of agents admitted they were not confident that their current tools met industry standards.
This gap in training and understanding is not limited to letting agents. Inventory providers, who play a key role in creating evidence for deposit and legal disputes, also lack the support needed to responsibly engage with AI tools in line with tenancy law.
As PropTech continues to evolve, Inventory Base encourages the lettings sector to view AI not as a replacement for human service, but as a complement. By streamlining operations, AI can free up more time for personal, high-value interactions.
“It’s clear that many letting agents still feel unsure about how AI fits into their business model, particularly when it comes to maintaining strong tenant relationships," comments Siân Hemming-Metcalfe, operations director at Inventory Base. "That uncertainty is not a reflection of agent resistance, but of the industry’s responsibility to provide tools designed with letting legislation and tenant experience in mind,”
She added, “But the hesitation may stem more from a lack of understanding or formal training and guidance than from the technology itself. Inventory providers, too, are seeking clarity. As report authors and frontline observers, they need AI tools that preserve the accuracy, neutrality, and consistency required in tenancy evidence, not systems that bypass their expertise.”
“As AI matures in the property sector, supporting all key stakeholders, including letting agents, landlords, and inventory providers, with ethical, transparent, and legislation-aware tools will be essential to securing trust and enabling responsible adoption.”
