Written by
Emma Collins
Published on
Jan 29, 2026
WhatsApp is everywhere. Over 98% of UK adults have it on their phone. Your tenants use it to message family, coordinate with friends, and communicate with almost every service they use.
So when they need to report a maintenance issue, WhatsApp feels natural. It's already there. No app to download, no password to remember, no learning curve.
Many letting agents have recognised this and started using WhatsApp to communicate with tenants. But there's a difference between using WhatsApp casually and using it properly — in a way that's compliant, sustainable, and actually saves time rather than creating new problems.
Here's how to get it right.
Why WhatsApp makes sense for property management
The case for WhatsApp is straightforward:
Tenants already use it. You're not asking them to adopt new behaviour. Messaging you is as easy as messaging anyone else.
Higher engagement than email. WhatsApp messages have open rates above 90%, compared to 20-30% for email. When you need tenants to respond — confirming contractor access, acknowledging a notice, providing information — WhatsApp gets results.
Rich media built in. Tenants can send photos and videos instantly. No "please email us the pictures" — they just share them in the conversation.
Asynchronous but immediate. Tenants can message whenever suits them. You can respond when you're ready. But it still feels faster than email because messages are delivered instantly.
Familiar and trusted. Tenants aren't suspicious of WhatsApp the way they might be of an unknown app or portal. It's already part of their daily life.
The compliance question
Before diving into WhatsApp, you need to address the legal and compliance considerations.
Personal vs Business WhatsApp
WhatsApp's terms of service prohibit using the personal version for business purposes. If you're communicating with tenants as a letting agency, you need to use one of WhatsApp's business solutions.
WhatsApp Business App is a free app designed for small businesses. It looks similar to regular WhatsApp but adds business features: a company profile with your address and hours, automated greeting and away messages, quick replies for common questions, and labels to organise conversations. It runs on a single phone, linked to one number.
For a small landlord or a letting agent managing a handful of properties personally, the Business App may be sufficient. But it has limitations: only one person can access it at a time, conversations stay on that device, and there's no integration with other systems.
WhatsApp Business API is designed for larger operations. It's not an app you download — it's a technical platform that connects WhatsApp to your business systems. The API allows multiple team members to handle conversations, integration with CRM and property management software, automated responses and chatbots, and centralised message logging.
The API requires a technical setup, usually through a Business Solution Provider (like Lanten), and has associated costs. But for agencies managing significant portfolios, it's the only way to use WhatsApp at scale without the chaos of multiple phones and fragmented conversations.
Using personal WhatsApp for business isn't just against the terms — it creates problems with data protection, record-keeping, and professional boundaries.
GDPR considerations
When you communicate with tenants via WhatsApp, you're processing personal data. You need:
Lawful basis for processing (legitimate interest or consent)
Clear privacy notice explaining how you'll use their data
Data retention policies
Ability to respond to subject access requests
This is manageable, but it needs to be thought through — especially if conversations contain sensitive information about repairs, complaints, or tenant circumstances.
Record-keeping for compliance
Under Awaab's Law and general best practice, you need records of when issues were reported, what was communicated, and how quickly you responded.
If WhatsApp conversations only exist on someone's phone, you have no audit trail. If that phone is lost, or the staff member leaves, or there's a dispute — you're exposed.
Any serious use of WhatsApp for property management needs a way to capture and store conversations centrally.
Common mistakes letting agents make
Using personal WhatsApp
The most common mistake: a property manager gives out their personal mobile number, and WhatsApp communication happens on their personal device.
This creates multiple problems:
No separation between work and personal life
Messages at all hours with no boundaries
Data protection issues (personal device, no backup)
What happens when that person is on holiday? Off sick? Leaves the company?
Violates WhatsApp's terms of service
No boundaries around response times
If you respond to WhatsApp messages instantly during office hours, tenants expect instant responses all the time. When you don't reply at 9pm, they feel ignored — even though you never promised 24/7 availability.
Without clear communication about response times, WhatsApp creates expectations you can't sustain.
Conversations trapped on one device
When WhatsApp conversations live only on one person's phone:
No one else can see the history
No handover when they're unavailable
No audit trail for disputes or compliance
No way to search past conversations
Critical information exists only in one place
This is fine for personal messaging. It's a serious risk for business communication.
Inconsistent handling
Different team members respond differently. One person triages carefully; another treats everything as urgent. One provides detailed guidance; another just says "we'll send someone."
Without frameworks and consistency, WhatsApp becomes chaotic rather than efficient.
Becoming the "WhatsApp person"
In many agencies, one person becomes the de facto WhatsApp handler. They're the number tenants have. They're always the first responder.
This creates a single point of failure and a fast track to burnout. When everything flows through one person, that person can never switch off.
Best practices for WhatsApp in property management
Use WhatsApp Business properly
If you're just starting out or managing a small portfolio, the WhatsApp Business App gives you:
Business profile (name, address, description, website, hours)
Automated greeting message for new conversations
Away message for outside office hours
Quick replies for common responses
Labels to categorise conversations (e.g., "urgent", "waiting for contractor", "resolved")
For agencies managing larger portfolios, the Business API is essential. It enables:
Multiple team members handling conversations simultaneously
Integration with your property management software
Automated workflows and AI-powered responses
Centralised logging that survives staff changes
Scalable handling without adding phones
Set clear expectations
Tell tenants upfront:
WhatsApp is monitored during office hours (state the hours)
Outside office hours, they'll receive an automated acknowledgment
For genuine emergencies, here's what to do
Expected response time for non-urgent queries
Managing expectations prevents frustration on both sides.
Centralise conversations
Every WhatsApp conversation should be logged in a central system that:
Multiple team members can access
Survives staff changes
Can be searched for compliance purposes
Links to the relevant property and tenant records
This usually requires integration via the Business API rather than using WhatsApp Business standalone.
Create response frameworks
Document how different types of messages should be handled:
Maintenance reports: gather specific information, triage by urgency
Queries about inspections, tenancy, etc.: standard responses or escalation
Complaints: acknowledgment, escalation path, documentation requirements
Emergencies: immediate action criteria
Consistency makes WhatsApp manageable at scale.
Protect your team
WhatsApp shouldn't mean 24/7 availability. Protect your team by:
Using business numbers, not personal numbers
Setting clear out-of-hours auto-responses
Rotating responsibility rather than loading one person
Using automation to handle initial responses
The challenge of doing it manually
Here's the reality: WhatsApp is easy for tenants but hard for agencies to manage well.
Every message is an interruption. Every maintenance report requires back-and-forth to gather details. Every conversation needs to be manually logged somewhere. Every response needs to be consistent with how others would respond.
At 20 properties, you can probably manage this manually. At 100 properties, it becomes overwhelming. The very thing that makes WhatsApp attractive — its immediacy and accessibility — becomes a burden when volume increases.
Without help, WhatsApp at scale means constant interruptions, inconsistent handling, and team members who can never truly disconnect.
Scaling WhatsApp with AI
The solution isn't to abandon WhatsApp — it's to handle it intelligently.
AI can manage WhatsApp conversations in a way that's impossible manually:
Instant response, always. Every message gets immediate acknowledgment and intelligent follow-up, whether it's 2pm Tuesday or 2am Sunday.
Conversational information gathering. AI asks the right follow-up questions based on what the tenant describes, gathering photos, error codes, and availability without your team's involvement.
Guidance that resolves issues. For common problems like low boiler pressure or tripped electrics, AI can walk tenants through troubleshooting steps — often resolving the issue without a contractor visit.
Automatic documentation. Every conversation is logged, searchable, and linked to the right property and tenant. Complete audit trail, no manual effort.
Your team sees only what needs human attention. Fully-documented issues, pre-triaged, ready to action. No more wading through message threads to figure out what's happening.
This is WhatsApp done properly: tenants get the channel they prefer with instant, intelligent response; your team gets manageable workload with full documentation.
Making the decision
WhatsApp for property management isn't optional — tenants increasingly expect it. The question is whether you do it in a way that's sustainable and compliant, or in a way that creates new problems.
The agencies getting it right are the ones who:
Use proper business accounts with clear policies
Centralise and document all conversations
Set expectations about response times
Use automation to handle volume and provide 24/7 coverage
Protect their team from burnout
Done well, WhatsApp becomes a competitive advantage. Done poorly, it becomes another source of stress.
Lanten handles tenant WhatsApp messages with AI that gathers complete information, provides instant troubleshooting guidance, and documents everything automatically. Your tenants get the channel they prefer; your team gets fully-documented issues without the 24/7 burden. Book a demo to see how it works.
