How to respond to an AI-generated tenant complaint

Today: log it and acknowledge it

Record the date the complaint arrived. That’s when your complaints procedure’s timescales start, whatever deadline the letter sets. Then send a short acknowledgement that:

• confirms you’ve received it and are treating it as a complaint;
• says who is handling it;
• gives the date by which you’ll send your full response.

Dear [name],

Thank you for your email of [date]. We are treating it as a complaint under our complaints procedure.

[Handler’s name] is dealing with it and will send you our full response by [date]. If we need anything else from you before then, we’ll be in touch.

Kind regards,
[Name, agency]

If the letter demands a reply within seven days and your procedure allows longer, you don’t have to argue about it: give your date and keep to it. Don’t respond to the legal points in the acknowledgement. You haven’t checked them yet.

More versions, including a holding letter for when you need more time, are in our response templates.

This week: turn the letter into a working sheet

A long AI-written complaint is hard to answer as a letter and easy to answer as a list. Make one row per point:

Group the rows by issue, and mark any that repeat an earlier point. The sheet also becomes your record of how you handled the complaint.

Check the law it quotes, one claim at a time

For every row that says what the law requires, open the provision on legislation.gov.uk and check that:

1. the words say what the complaint says they say;
2. it applies to a home in England;
3. it was in force when the events happened (use the version for that date);
4. it’s legislation, not guidance or a code of practice.

Search by the Act’s name and go to the specific section, not the whole Act. Read the “changes to legislation” notice at the top: it tells you whether the version you’re reading is up to date. If a claim names no law (“I’m legally entitled to…”), find the provision that would cover it before deciding whether it’s supported.

Seven claims that often come up, checked one by one, are in When an AI complaint quotes the wrong law.

Pull the records that decide each point

For each factual row, write down the record that would settle it, then go and get it. For the usual issues:

• Repairs: when it was reported, contractor visits and job sheets, parts, the date it was fixed, anything you told the tenant.
• Damp and mould: previous reports, inspection notes, any surveys, what was done and when.
• Deposit: the date you received it, the protection certificate, the prescribed information and proof it was given.
• Fees: invoices, payment records, and the terms in force at the time.
• Gas and electrical safety: every gas safety record and electrical safety report for the tenancy, and proof the tenant was given them.
• Rent increases and notices: the notice itself, how and when it was served, and the tenancy agreement.

See records to gather for a complaint for more.

Decide each issue, and involve the landlord where it’s theirs

Give each issue an outcome: upheld, partly upheld, not upheld, need more information, or escalate. Agree anything that needs the landlord (works, refunds of money they received, compensation) before you reply, so the reply can say what will actually happen. Take legal advice before replying on possession, harassment or illegal eviction, discrimination, or significant money.

Write the reply

Open by thanking them and naming the issues you’ll answer. Then one short part per issue, in the order they raised them: what they raised, what you found, your decision, what happens next and when. Close with your internal review step and your redress scheme.

The hard part is usually the wording around the law. Some phrasings that work:

What to avoid

• Mirroring the legalese. Formal language on both sides makes it harder for everyone, including a redress scheme, to see what was agreed.
• Saying it was written by AI. It isn’t relevant, and it reads as a reason not to engage.
• Conceding a legal point you haven’t checked, or disputing one you haven’t checked. Both come back to bite.
• Telling the tenant they’re wrong about the law. Say what you checked and what it says.
• Dates you can’t keep. If you don’t have a date yet, say when you’ll confirm one.
• One reply for everything. Answer each issue separately so none gets a vague answer.

Where Casebriar takes work off this process

Most of the time goes on the working sheet: separating the points, checking the law, and working out which records matter. That’s what Casebriar does, and it leaves the decisions to you.