"Alexa! Tell me about this agency's service for landlords and tenants"

Vesper Homes, a high-end London property management firm, has developed an Alexa Skill which will mean landlords and tenants can receive spoken information on their tenancies and properties. 

Using an Amazon Echo device, landlords can receive instant spoken replies to questions about their rental properties; those landlords signing up to the agency’s fully managed service receive a free Echo Dot - a small speaker system - to provide the information. 

For those unfamiliar with the service, Alexa is the nickname given to ‘the voice’ which responds to questions which begin with the word ‘Alexa’. 

So questions the landlord can ask Alexa include: ‘Alexa! When is my rent due?’ ‘Alexa! When is my break clause?’ ‘Alexa! Has my rent been paid?’ and ‘Alexa! What is a Section 21 notice?’

Tenants in properties managed by Vesper Homes will also receive an Echo Dot, which they can use to report a problem with their property. 

Vesper Homes - which describes itself as “a PropTech agency” - says tenants often complain of non-responsive landlords and letting agents when it comes to reporting issues with their property, so using Alexa should avoid similar difficulties. 

Tenants can tell Alexa what the issue is, such as the boiler not working; this then comes through as a repair ticket to Vesper Homes. 

“We aim to deploy a leading-edge technological platform with a variety of differentiated, client-driven features and processes aimed firmly at improving an already superior service for both landlords and tenants alike with the addition of an enhanced digital drive and presence” explains James Cameron, director of Vesper Homes.