- Tenants using AI for rental disputes could lead to higher rents due to longer resolution times.
- Property managers report AI turning routine issues into complex disputes, creating extra work and delays.
- The Tenancy Tribunal is seeing more AI use, making claims longer and more complex.
A nationwide property management boss warns that tenants using AI for rental disputes could end up pushing up rents, as issues take longer to resolve.
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Property managers say tools like ChatGPT are turning routine rental problems into disputes and creating extra work.
“If property management firms have to take on more staff, property management fees could go up and rents,” Property Scouts national director Duncan McLean says.
Others say supply and demand remain the biggest drivers of rents, but what is changing is the way tenants are raising complaints.
Eight in 10 Bayleys property managers say tenants are using AI.
Six in 10 say it’s turning routine problems into disputes, and half say it’s making those conversations harder to manage.
Bayleys head of innovation and property management national director Will Alexander says many people are using AI like Google, without realising the answers they get depend heavily on the questions they ask.
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He says what could once have been a simple message about a leaking tap can now turn into a five-page AI-generated complaint.
“Often what people put in is subjective and very one-sided, and that very much impacts what you get out.”
Alexander says AI can take a minor issue from “zero to 100” very quickly.
Duncan McLean says some tenants are even threatening legal action.
“They are using AI to explore legal avenues, but the information is not always correct,” he says.
Keen on Rentals property manager Klim Andreev says that creates unrealistic expectations for tenants.
“I think it gives tenants false hope. AI mimics the tenant and tries to give them the result they are looking for,” Andreev says.
Property managers say the use of AI can take a minor issue from "zero to 100" very quickly. Photo / Getty Images
David Faulkner from Property Brokers says he has no problem with tenants using AI, but says people still need to verify the information they are getting.
“This is not about tenants exercising their rights. This is about slowing down the whole system, which helps no-one,” he says.
Property managers say disputes can often be solved by people picking up the phone.
But when disputes do escalate, property managers say delays at the Tenancy Tribunal can become costly.
Lodge City Rentals general manager Jason Waugh says he’s never seen Tribunal delays like this before in the industry.
“We’ve been waiting two months to get a court hearing for a simple application for rent arrears ... it used to take three to four weeks, and that’s two months of debt compounding for the landlord.”
The Tenancy Tribunal says it is also seeing more AI being used in tenancy disputes. It says some AI-generated material is making claims longer and more complex.
A spokesperson says the apparent use of AI has increased in the material being filed with the Tribunal.
The Tribunal is now preparing guidance on how AI should be used in tenancy matters.
But Tenancy Advisory director Sarina Gibbon says AI may be helping renters better understand their rights.
She says AI can give tenants more confidence to raise issues and navigate a system that can be intimidating.
However, she describes AI as an amplifier, not an equaliser.
“If you have a Tribunal case that has merit and understand how the law applies to your situation, AI can amplify that. But if you have a weak case and little understanding of tenancy law, AI will amplify that too.”
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