A new tech start-up using AI to pair tenants with the most suitable rented homes has been launched.

Rentsmart claims to save hours of searching for listings on rental platforms by coming up with the most relevant properties and making house-hunters immediately aware when a property matching their requirements becomes available.

The website – which is currently crowdfunding – organises viewings around users’ schedules, tells them the time and location for each viewing, and the contact details of the agent or landlord.

Founder Callum Hook (main image) says the matching algorithms help most people find a new home in an average of 12 days. He credits the increasing sophistication of AI in being able to understand the nuance of customers’ preferences and trade-offs.

Transformational

“A company like Rentsmart wasn’t possible even 12 months ago,” Hook tells The Standard. “The last 12-18 months have been transformational for the tech industry and generative AI is starting to enable us to automate tasks that previously were considered too complex to.

By using AI, we can let users explain what they want with language, allowing us to more deeply understand their preferences, what’s really important to them, and what’s less of a deal-breaker.”

Requests so far have included everything from ‘yes we want a garden, but if the park is two minutes away and the kitchen is bigger than we expected, we’d take it’ to ‘my boyfriend prefers clean, modern properties, whereas I’m more into old, eccentric buildings — can you help us find something in the middle?’.

The company has a standard package, costing £45 and offering unlimited property matches, a dedicated relocation specialist and seven-day-a-week customer support, along with a premium package, costing £69 and offering the added benefit of no more agent calls, with viewings being scheduled and booked.