Lettie has launched a free maintenance-reporting service for landlords managing up to four rental properties.
The proptech estimates the plan is available to approximately 83% of landlords in England and aims to improve record-keeping as regulation of the private rented sector tightens.
Tenants can report repairs around the clock through WhatsApp, with each communication and subsequent action recorded in a time-stamped audit trail.
The platform triages requests, analyses photographs and produces structured summaries where landlord or professional intervention is required.
REPAIR RECORDS BROUGHT INTO ONE PLACE
Lettie says many smaller landlords currently manage maintenance through a combination of telephone calls, emails, text messages and messaging applications.
Its platform brings those communications together, recording a repair from its initial notification through to resolution.
The free plan includes a web dashboard, prioritised issue log, automated tenant onboarding, certificate tracking, a compliance evidence locker and downloadable reports for individual tenants or properties. No payment-card details are required to register.
Additional properties can be added for £2.50 per property per month.
REGULATION INCREASES NEED FOR EVIDENCE
The launch follows the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act coming into force on 1 May.
Further reforms include the planned regional rollout of the Private Rented Sector Database, a mandatory landlord ombudsman and the future extension of Awaab’s Law to privately rented homes.
These changes are expected to place greater emphasis on landlords demonstrating when an issue was reported, how it was assessed and what steps were taken in response.
Calum Hopkins, Co-founder of Qualisync, the company behind Lettie, says: “The overwhelming majority of landlords in England own four properties or fewer, but they’re increasingly expected to meet the same standards of record-keeping and accountability as much larger property businesses.
“Most landlords genuinely want to resolve repairs quickly. The challenge isn’t willingness, it’s documentation. Maintenance conversations often happen across phone calls, emails, text messages and WhatsApp, making it difficult to demonstrate exactly what happened if questions are raised months later.”
TECHNOLOGY DOES NOT REPLACE REPAIRS
Hopkins stresses that the platform is intended to support reporting and evidence rather than replace a landlord’s responsibility to act.
He adds: “Software cannot make a property safe or carry out a repair. What it can do is ensure a report isn’t lost, the right questions are asked promptly and there is a reliable record for the landlord, tenant or anyone later reviewing how an issue was managed.”
