How to use Casebriar
From a tenant's letter to a reply you've approved, step by step.
Watch the walkthrough, then read each step below. Most complaints take a few minutes of your time; Casebriar does the reading and checking.
Step by step
What happens, and what you do.
- 1
Send in the complaint
Forward the tenant's email to your agency's Casebriar address, or paste the text into a new case. Casebriar gives it a reference and starts reading.
Anonymise complaints during the pilot: take out names, addresses and phone numbers.
- 2
Casebriar separates the issues
One email often raises several problems. Each is pulled out on its own (repairs, damp, the deposit, fees, a notice) so each gets its own answer.
- 3
The legal claims are checked
Where the tenant says the law requires something, Casebriar looks up the provision on legislation.gov.uk and checks it says that, applies in England and was in force at the time. Each claim is marked verified, needs evidence, or not established.
"Not established" doesn't mean the tenant is wrong. It means nothing Casebriar checked supports the claim, so don't repeat it back as fact either way.
- 4
Send the acknowledgement
The first task shows your acknowledge-by and respond-by dates in working days, with an acknowledgement letter ready to copy, edit and send from your own email. Mark it sent and the date is recorded on the case.
- 5
Check the records
For each issue you get a short list of the records that matter, such as the gas safety certificate, contractor visits or the deposit protection certificate. Tick what your file shows and add a note, or attach a PDF or photo and Casebriar writes the note for you to check.
- 6
Decide each issue
Choose an outcome for every issue: upheld, partly upheld, not upheld, need more information, or escalate. If a legal point looks wrong to you, leave it out and it stays out of the reply.
- 7
Approve the reply
Once every issue has a decision, Casebriar drafts the reply from your decisions and notes, in your style, ending with your internal review and redress scheme details. Edit it, approve it, and send it from your usual email.
Good to know
Before your first complaint.
Set your deadlines once
Managers set how many working days you have to acknowledge and to respond, your redress scheme and your internal review step. Every case uses them.
Add two or three past replies
Paste replies you've sent before, with names taken out. Drafts then use your greeting, sign-off and tone. It never copies facts or legal wording from them.
Invite your team
Team members see the cases assigned to them; managers see every case in the agency and can reassign them.
Got a complaint waiting? Try Casebriar on that one.
Plans start at £15 a complaint, with no charge per user. Free pilot places are available while Casebriar is in early access.