Will AI lease your next apartment? It can. Whether it should is up to renters.

Where leasing is heading

I’ve seen multifamily leasing from two sides: working on the data and operations side, and as a renter myself. My take is that most of the leasing process will run through AI and technology:

Scheduling the tour
The tour itself
The lease agreement

A lot of this is already happening. Properties still keep a human option, though, because enough people aren’t comfortable leasing an apartment without ever talking to a person.

Here’s what I think: if every institutional multifamily owner decided today to move the whole leasing experience to AI and technology, renters would learn it faster than we expect, and it would become the new standard.

How we got here

Self-guided touring really took off during and after COVID, for obvious reasons. Think about how many people tried it and realized it works with no problem.

The lease-cycle math

Now think about a renter’s leasing cycle. Most people sign leases of 12 to 24 months. That means most renters today are on only their first, second, or third lease in a post-COVID world (unless they move every single time).

In other words, people are still getting used to this. Once someone has downloaded a self-touring app and done it enough times, they’ll shrug and say, “I guess this is how it works now.” Technology or not, they still need a place to live.

The trickier piece: the lease

The lease agreement is harder, but I think it gets replaced too.

We still believe we need to negotiate, that there’s always money left on the table. But at large professionally managed properties, what the leasing associate can offer is usually set ahead of time: standard specials, lease terms, and the approvals needed for anything outside them. The associate you’re talking to is following company policy.

The key word is policy. When the options are already defined, the “negotiation” is really about finding the right fit within them. And a well-defined process is something AI can handle.

Where the sales moment belongs

There’s one piece I don’t want to lose: sales. A leasing associate who goes above and beyond can give someone a genuinely good feeling about where they’re about to live. So where does that moment belong?

Look at the milestones:

Scheduling the tour is logistics. AI does it better: instant, 24/7, no phone tag.
The first tour is discovery. A self-guided tour works fine for “Do I like this place?”
Between the tour and the lease is the decision. The renter is comparing options, has real questions, and might be hesitating. This is the sales moment.
The lease is paperwork. Technology handles it.

Does that moment have to be in person? Not always, but it helps. When I analyzed tour sequences, prospects who came back for a guided tour after an unguided one converted at several times the rate of those who toured unguided both times. Talking with a real person on that second visit made the difference.

So in person is the strongest version. A thoughtful phone call or video walkthrough is the next best, and a personal email can work for renters who prefer it. What matters is that a real person shows up at the moment of decision, not an automated “Just checking in!”

The future I see: AI handles everything before and after the decision, and people own the decision itself.

Can vs. will

So yes, that part can be replaced. But will it?

Picture two buildings across the street from each other:

Apartment A has leasing agents.
Apartment B runs 100% of leasing through AI and technology.

Where does the renter go?

That depends on whether society pushes back. And there are signs it might. We’ve started to shame messages the moment they come in: “That’s clearly AI.” That sentiment is worth paying attention to.

My take

Just because the whole process can be done with technology and AI doesn’t mean it should be. The operators who win will be the ones who ask renters what they want, not just what’s possible.

The people are the demand. Always remember that.