When we started building Domly, we had assumptions about what tenants text their landlords about. Emergencies, we figured. Broken things. Complaints. But after processing thousands of real tenant interactions through our platform, the data told a different story. One that has significant implications for how landlords think about communication.
The biggest category, accounting for about 42% of all messages, is maintenance and repairs. No surprise there. But here's the breakdown within that bucket: plumbing issues (31% of maintenance texts), heating and HVAC (22%), appliance problems (18%), pest concerns (15%), and water damage (14%). The distribution shifts seasonally. Heating dominates from November through March. Pest issues spike in the spring.
The second largest category caught us off guard: building rules and bylaws at 18%. Questions like "What day is recycling?" or "Can my friend park in the visitor spot overnight?" or "Are we allowed to have a BBQ on the balcony?" These aren't maintenance issues. They're information requests. And they're the easiest to automate because the answers don't change. If a landlord has uploaded their building rules to a knowledge base, the AI can answer these instantly, every time.
Payment and rent questions come in at 15%. Tenants asking when rent is due, whether an e-transfer went through, or requesting a receipt. Noise and neighbor complaints account for 12%. Lockouts and access issues make up 8%. The remaining 5% is a grab bag of lease questions, moving logistics, and the occasional "there's a raccoon on my balcony" situation.
The timing data is just as revealing. The peak messaging window is 6 PM to 11 PM, with a secondary spike between 7 AM and 9 AM. This makes sense: tenants notice problems when they're home, which is exactly when landlords are off the clock. About 23% of maintenance-related messages include a photo, which is incredibly valuable for triage. A photo of a water stain tells you more than five texts describing it.
The operational takeaway is significant. Roughly 60% of all tenant messages (bylaws + routine maintenance + payment questions) can be handled accurately by an AI agent with access to a well-maintained knowledge base. Another 20% require the AI to gather information (photos, details) before flagging the landlord. Only about 20% genuinely require direct landlord involvement.
For Domly users, this means the knowledge base is the single most important thing to set up well. Landlords who take 30 minutes to enter their building rules, garbage schedule, parking policy, and common maintenance FAQs see their direct involvement drop dramatically. The AI handles the repetitive questions. The landlord handles the judgment calls.
The data also highlights a retention opportunity. Tenants who get instant, accurate answers to simple questions ("What day is garbage day?") rate their overall living experience significantly higher than those who have to wait hours or days for the same answer. It's not about the complexity of the question. It's about the responsiveness of the answer.
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