What to know
- Nearly one in four Canadian renters have used AI during their home search, with 72.6 per cent of users finding the tools helpful.
- Finding listings and neighbourhoods is the most common use, followed by comparing rental prices, understanding lease terms and getting budgeting advice.
- AI can save renters time and help them save on rent, as well as assisting them in understanding their rights and responsibilities.
- However, the tools aren’t always accurate, as some users have reported outdated information, a lack of local market nuance and limitations when it comes to lease guidance.
- One expert recommends using AI as a supplementary tool and double-checking important information, especially when it comes to rental rules, leases, budgets and personal information.
Renting a new home might come with a set of challenges, from finding listings to finalizing the lease agreement, but more Canadians are now using AI-powered tools to help them through this process.
A new Rentals.ca survey found that 28.5 per cent of Canadian renters have used AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini to help them search for a new home.
Renters in Ontario lead the AI adoption rate, with 29.9 of renters in the region saying they’ve used the tools, followed by B.C. at 27.2 per cent, Alberta at 25.5 per cent, Atlantic Canada at 25 per cent, Manitoba and Winnipeg at 23 per cent, and Quebec at 22.7 per cent.
For Rentals.ca Communications Director Giacomo Ladas, the most surprising result from the survey is not only that renters are using AI tools, but that the majority of them are saying that the platform is helpful.
Out of the 28.5 per cent of renters who have used the tools, 72.6 per cent found them to be helpful during their home search.
“When you talk to people about AI, you do hear a lot of pushback. It’s one of those technologies that has become so ubiquitous, yet everyone seems to hate, oddly enough,” Ladas told Now Toronto.
“But the fact that we had such a high approval rating in helping search for rental apartments, I think, was a really encouraging sign.”
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How can AI be helpful during home searches?
According to Ladas, the AI tools can be especially helpful to renters because they have a wide range of uses during the hunting process, which go beyond using listing sites’ chatbots.
The most common use for AI during the home search process was for finding listings or neighbourhoods, with 57.7 per cent of respondents who used the tools saying they’ve used it for that purpose.
“It can help save time in the search process that is really becoming a lot more demanding,” Ladas said.
On top of making the process easier, renters are also using the tools to better understand their rights and responsibilities and even to save on rent.
According to the survey, 45.5 per cent of renters who have used AI tools, used it to compare rental prices, while 40.2 per cent to understand lease terms, and 38.1 per cent to obtain budgeting advice.
“Renters are using AI to help manage what seems to be tighter and tighter finances in very expensive markets. So, the fact they’re they’re using AI not necessarily for looking at apartments, but just to budget accordingly, I think is great,” Ladas said.
In addition, 33 per cent of those respondents said they’ve used the tools to help write messages to their landlords, which Ladas said can be helpful in presenting themselves well in a competitive market and maintaining a professional relationship.
Should people be using AI to home search?
While AI is being more popularized, it is not uncommon for users to raise concerns about inaccurate or unhelpful advice coming from these tools.
In fact, 21.2 per cent of renters who used the tools found it to be unhelpful, citing limitations, including outdated information, lack of local market nuance, and general-purpose lease guidance that doesn’t substitute an expert.
Even though the tools aren’t perfect, Ladas said overall they can in fact be helpful for renters throughout the hunting process, as they can make it easier and more accessible for a lot of people.
“Anything that can maybe dwindle down to renters and make it as accessible and easy as possible, I think is a good thing, especially when you’re looking at lease agreements and leasing terms and rules and regulations,” he said.
“I think that the complicated process of hunting for an apartment is not as easy and simple as everyone thinks. So, any tools that can help make it a little bit smoother of a transition is a good thing in our books.”
Best practices to keep in mind
While AI can be extremely helpful, the expert warns there are some things renters should keep in mind when using the tools to avoid having any issues.
As pointed out by survey respondents, these tools are not perfect, and can often present inaccurate or outdated information.
“I do think for a renter, it’s worth trying out because it could save you a lot of time. Of course, keeping in the back of your head that not everything’s perfect. We do encourage you to make sure you double and triple check everything,” Ladas said, adding that verifying information could be asking for a second opinion on budgets and lease agreements.
Additionally, the expert said it’s important for renters to stay true to themselves while home searching, even if they are using AI. For instance, when discussing lease agreements, they should be as honest as possible on their credentials and demands.
“We want a fair and honest rental market in Canada… Most landlords are small landlords and they use these rental apartments as the majority of their income. They want to have a good relationship with the tenant as well,” he said.
“Just being open and honest as much as possible, and using AI as a supplementary tool rather than just creating a version of you that doesn’t exist.”
For landlords who might also use AI to create a listing or filter through rental applications, Ladas also recommends transparency and caution, especially when it comes to portraying their homes online.
“If you’re putting photos of your apartment on a website like Rentals.ca, and you’re using AI to completely manipulate the images of the photos, that when somebody goes and views the listing, it looks nothing like they saw. That, of course, is something that we strongly discourage.”
