Automate Your Tenant Application Review Process with AI
AI automates tenant application review by extracting data from forms and documents. It then verifies income, checks credit criteria, and flags applications for human review.
The complexity depends on the variety of documents you accept and the systems you integrate with. Processing a standard online form with PDF pay stubs is a direct build. Handling scanned bank statements, tax returns, and integrating with both a PMS and a separate accounting system requires more configuration.
We built a screening system for a property management firm with 12 leasing agents processing 500 applications per month. Their manual review took 35 minutes per applicant. The AI workflow we deployed completes the initial screen in under 60 seconds, reducing their total agent review time by 90% in 4 weeks.
What Problem Does This Solve?
Most property managers rely on the basic screening tools built into their property management software (PMS) like AppFolio or Buildium. These tools can run a credit check but cannot intelligently parse documents. Your leasing agents still have to open every PDF pay stub and bank statement, find the right numbers, and manually calculate the rent-to-income ratio.
A regional property manager with 30 employees tried to solve this using an off-the-shelf OCR service to read pay stubs. The service extracted text but could not differentiate between gross pay, overtime, and reimbursements. This led to a 15% error rate in income calculation, forcing agents to double-check every single document anyway, defeating the purpose of the tool. The process delay meant they regularly lost top applicants to competitors who could approve faster.
These separate tools fail because they create more work than they save. A workflow that requires an agent to check the PMS, then an OCR tool, then a spreadsheet for calculations is not an automated system. It is just a different, more complicated manual process that is prone to data entry errors and still leaves your team as the bottleneck.
How Does It Work?
We start by connecting to your PMS, either AppFolio or Yardi, through its API to pull new applicant data and documents. All submitted files, from PDF pay stubs to photos of W-2s, are routed to an AWS S3 bucket. We use the Python `boto3` library to write an AWS Lambda function that triggers automatically for each new document.
The core of the system uses the Claude API for intelligent document analysis. We send the document's text with a specific prompt asking for structured JSON output containing fields like 'Employer Name', 'Gross Pay Per Period', and 'Pay Frequency'. This is far more accurate than simple OCR. Another Python function then annualizes the verified income, calculates the debt-to-income ratio, and checks it against the property's specific criteria, like requiring income to be 3.1x the rent.
The entire workflow is a single FastAPI service deployed on AWS Lambda, which can process over 2,000 applications per day. A webhook from your PMS triggers the process. The system runs its analysis and then writes a status ('Approved', 'Rejected', 'Manual Review') and a summary note back to the applicant's record in your PMS. The entire process, from submission to PMS update, completes in under 90 seconds. We log every decision to a Supabase database for a complete audit trail. The total build takes 4 weeks.
We also build a simple monitoring dashboard on Vercel for your leasing manager. It provides a real-time view of the application queue and highlights any that were flagged for manual review, stating the exact reason, like 'Pay stub data inconsistent with application form'. Any system errors trigger a Slack alert to our team within 60 seconds using `structlog` for structured, actionable error reports.
What Are the Key Benefits?
Screen Applicants in 90 Seconds, Not 45 Minutes
The AI workflow processes documents and applies your criteria automatically. Your agents get a pre-screened list, cutting manual review time by over 90%.
One-Time Build With Sub-$50 Monthly Hosting
No recurring per-seat or per-application SaaS fees. After the one-time build, hosting on AWS Lambda is predictable and affordable.
You Get the Full Python Codebase
We deliver the complete source code in your GitHub repository. Your screening logic is a transparent asset, not a black box you rent from a vendor.
Real-Time Alerts on Processing Failures
We configure Slack alerts that fire instantly if an API fails or a document is unreadable. You hear about problems from the system, not from applicants.
Writes Statuses Directly into Yardi or AppFolio
The system updates applicant records in your existing PMS. Your team's core workflow does not change, and no new software needs to be learned.
What Does the Process Look Like?
Systems Access and Criteria (Week 1)
You provide your documented screening criteria and grant API access to your PMS. We receive 20-30 sample applications (with PII redacted) to tune the logic.
AI Workflow Construction (Week 2)
We build the Python scripts for document parsing and decisioning. You receive a video demo of the system accurately processing your sample application files.
Deployment and Integration (Week 3)
We deploy the FastAPI application on AWS Lambda and connect it to your live application pipeline. You receive the private URL for the monitoring dashboard.
Monitoring and Handoff (Weeks 4-8)
We actively monitor every live application for 4 weeks to ensure accuracy. At the end of the period, you receive the full codebase, documentation, and support runbook.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much does a custom tenant screening system cost?
- Pricing depends on the number of unique document types to process and the number of PMS integrations. A typical build for one PMS and two document types takes 4 weeks. The final deliverable is a fixed-price project, not an hourly engagement. Book a discovery call at cal.com/syntora/discover to discuss your specific needs and receive a formal proposal.
- What happens if the AI misreads an applicant's pay stub?
- The system is designed to prioritize accuracy. If the Claude API returns a confidence score below 95% for a critical field like 'gross income', the application is automatically flagged for 'Manual Review'. It adds a note to the PMS explaining the issue. Your team never has to act on a low-confidence data extraction.
- How is this different from the screening built into AppFolio?
- AppFolio's built-in screening is a rigid pass/fail tool for credit and background checks. It cannot read documents or apply your custom logic, like different income requirements for different properties. We build a system that executes your exact underwriting rules, processes unstructured documents, and provides a full audit trail for every automated decision.
- Does this automated system comply with Fair Housing laws?
- Yes. The AI applies your pre-defined, objective criteria with 100% consistency, which reduces the risk of human bias inherent in manual reviews. By codifying your exact screening policy, the system creates a verifiable record that every applicant was measured against the same standard. This improves your compliance posture by making your process auditable and uniform.
- What kind of applicant documents can the system handle?
- The system is tuned for your specific needs but commonly processes PDF pay stubs, bank statements, W-2s, and employment offer letters. It can also handle scanned images or photos of documents by using an initial OCR pass before sending the extracted text to the Claude API for structured data interpretation. We test and refine prompts for each document type.
- Do we need an IT department to maintain this after launch?
- No. The system is built on serverless technology using AWS Lambda, which means there are no servers to manage or patch. We include 90 days of support and monitoring post-launch. After that, we provide a runbook for your team and offer an optional monthly support plan for ongoing maintenance and future adjustments.
Related Solutions
Ready to Automate Your Small Business Operations?
Book a call to discuss how we can implement ai automation for your small business business.
Book a Call