Guides

Handling tenant complaints, properly.

Free, practical guides for letting agents and property managers in England. Each one links to the legislation or guidance it relies on and says which is which.

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AI-written tenant complaints

Tenants can now write a long, legal-sounding complaint in seconds. How to check what it claims and answer it well, with free tools and templates.

GuideAI-written complaints: the complete guideWhat they are, why they're arriving, and a process for answering one well.How toHow to respond to an AI-generated complaintA practical process for the complaint in front of you today.VerificationWhen a complaint quotes the wrong lawSeven legal claims AI tools get wrong, checked one by one.GuideChatGPT complaints: what to checkWhat a chatbot gets right, where it slips, and the checks that matter.Free toolFree complaint checkerPaste a complaint and see the laws it names and what to verify. Runs in your browser.TemplateResponse templatesAcknowledgement, final response and holding letter, free to copy.ExamplesTenant complaint examplesWorked examples: the claim, the law, the records and the reply.The lawComplaints under the Renters' Rights ActWhat's in force, what isn't yet, and what to investigate.SoftwareComplaint software for letting agentsWhat to look for, and how Casebriar compares with a chatbot or doing it by hand.ComparisonCasebriar vs ChatGPTAnswering a complaint with a chatbot or with Casebriar: what each does, and when to use which.

Complaints and redress

Redress schemes, procedures and escalation

What The Property Ombudsman and the Property Redress Scheme expect of your complaint handling, the timescales, and what happens when a complaint is escalated.

GuideLetting agent redress schemesWho must belong, how complaints escalate, and what each scheme does.TemplateComplaints procedure templateA written in-house procedure that meets both schemes’ requirements.TemplateComplaint response lettersAcknowledgement, final response and holding letter.

The complaint process

From acknowledgement to final response

How letting agents can respond to a tenant complaint
A step-by-step process for handling tenant complaints in England, from acknowledging receipt to a final response a redress scheme would accept.
Separating the issues in a tenant complaint
How to break a long tenant complaint into distinct issues so every point gets an answer and nothing is missed or repeated.
Checking legal claims in a tenant complaint
How to check whether the law a tenant cites actually says what they say it does: finding the provision, extent, commencement, and law versus guidance.
Records to gather before you reply to a tenant complaint
Free downloadable tenant complaint evidence checklist, with repair, damp and deposit examples and how to turn property history into a supported reply.
Writing the final response to a tenant complaint
A structure for complaint responses that answers every point, cites the law accurately, and tells the tenant how to escalate to your redress scheme.

Field Reports

What we’re seeing across the sector

The guides say what to do. Field Reports are Casebriar’s own research, from direct conversations with letting agencies, with the sample and method stated.

AI-Generated Tenant Complaints in UK Lettings
Research in progress: our first field report, from conversations with letting agencies.

By type of complaint

What the law says, and the records you’ll need

Repair complaints: section 11 and the landlord’s duties
What the landlord's repairing duty under section 11 covers, what it doesn't, and the records you need to answer a repair complaint in England.
Responding to damp and mould complaints from tenants
How to handle damp and mould complaints in England: fitness for habitation, housing hazards, and the records needed to investigate and reply.
Deposit complaints: protection and prescribed information
What the Housing Act 2004 requires for protecting a tenancy deposit, the consequences of getting it wrong, and how to respond to a deposit complaint in England.
Tenant fee complaints and the Tenant Fees Act 2019
Which payments landlords and letting agents in England can take from tenants, which are banned, and how to respond when a tenant says a charge was unlawful.
Gas safety complaints and the landlord’s legal duties
What the Gas Safety Regulations 1998 require of landlords, from annual checks to giving tenants the record, and how to answer a gas safety complaint.
Electrical safety complaints in private rented homes
What the 2020 electrical safety regulations require of private landlords in England: five-yearly inspections, giving tenants the report, and remedial work.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm complaints
What the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, as amended in 2022, require of private landlords, and how to respond to an alarm complaint.
Complaints alleging harassment or unlawful eviction
What the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 makes an offence, why these complaints need careful handling, and when to take legal advice.
Rent increase complaints and section 13 notices
Rent increases in England after 1 May 2026: section 13 notices, transitional rules, and records to check before answering a rent rise complaint.
Tenant requests for the landlord's name and address
Tenants' rights to know who their landlord is and to have an address for serving notices, under the Landlord and Tenant Acts 1985 and 1987.
Complaints about access and entry to a rented property
When landlords and agents in England can enter a tenant's home, the 24-hour notice rule for inspecting repairs, and how to handle complaints about visits.