Artificial intelligence is steadily transforming the apartment rental sector, introducing efficiencies across operations, marketing, and investments. What was once a slow integration of technology is now accelerating into a full-blown rental revolution. AI is stepping in to handle tasks like work orders, lease renewals, property tours, and even investor due diligence — areas previously requiring significant manual effort. The current wave of adoption remains fragmented across numerous vendors, presenting a major opportunity for startups and the venture capital firms supporting them to build integrated, scalable platforms.
One of the more developed applications of AI in multifamily housing is the use of virtual agents to communicate with prospective renters. These agentic AI systems can act autonomously and respond to nuanced renter queries, representing a new frontier in customer service. However, only a few companies have fully embraced this advanced level of AI. On the investment side, AI is proving indispensable for underwriting and acquisitions, especially when dealing with properties that haven’t been professionally managed. Instead of manually processing every lease, investors can now feed documents into AI models that quickly extract and summarize relevant data, streamlining the due diligence process.
RET Ventures, a VC firm focused on real estate technology, is at the forefront of this evolution. Its portfolio includes companies like PredictAP, which automates accounts payable by reading and processing vendor invoices without the need for human coding. Another portfolio company, Funnel, is reimagining multifamily leasing and marketing by treating renters' relationships as brand-based rather than property-specific. Funnel’s centralized approach allows for cross-selling across a property owner’s entire portfolio — a tenant leaving one location might be guided to another in a different city.
Still, the industry faces challenges. While larger players like Camden Property Trust, MAA, Essex Property Trust, and Greystar are experimenting with AI at scale, the multifamily housing market remains highly fragmented. With around 50 million rental units in the U.S., most of which are owned by small landlords, broad adoption of AI tools could be slow and uneven. Cost is another factor. The technology, though promising, is still in its early stages and remains expensive, keeping many operators in the pilot or experimental phase. Industry experts acknowledge that the coming years will be critical in determining which AI tools offer lasting value and which fail to scale.
Despite these hurdles, the momentum is clear. The real estate industry — long considered tech-averse — is beginning to view AI not just as a tool for automation but as a competitive advantage in leasing, operations, and investment strategy.
