Minor repair or landlord's problem? How AI makes the right call instantly

It's an ordinary Tuesday and three reports come in. One tenant reports a dripping tap. Another has a blocked drain. A third reports that the bathroom sealant is coming loose. Three reports, three questions of responsibility. Because who has to fix this: you or the tenant?

This is exactly where the day to day reality of property management can get stuck. Not with the big defects, those are clear enough. It's the small, everyday reports where the line between tenant and landlord responsibility sits right on the edge.

The decree that decides everything

The Besluit kleine herstellingen (Minor Repairs Decree) has been in force since 2003 and sets out exactly which repairs fall to the tenant. Under article 7:240 of the Dutch Civil Code, tenants are required to carry out everyday, minor repairs themselves: think of replacing light bulbs, bleeding radiators, keeping drains clear, replacing sealant and lubricating doors.

Sounds clear enough. Yet the 2024 annual report of the Huurcommissie (Rental Tribunal) showed that more than 5,800 tenants started a defect case, a rise of over 30 percent compared with 2023 and almost 50 percent more than in 2022. In practice, the line between a "minor repair" and a "defect" is blurrier than you'd think.

The line is blurrier than the law suggests

The problem isn't that you don't know the law. The problem is that every report needs interpreting. A blocked drain? Tenant responsibility, unless there's a structural problem in the drainpipe. Loose sealant? Tenant, if it's normal wear and tear, but landlord if there's an underlying damp problem in the structure.

That nuance takes time. And with a portfolio of hundreds or thousands of homes, with reports coming in daily by email, phone and app, there's no way to weigh up every case carefully. Staff make judgement calls. Sometimes right, sometimes not. And when those judgement calls consistently lean one way, you build up conflict.

What AI does differently

BFR9 processes incoming repair reports and checks them against the Besluit kleine herstellingen straight away. When a tenant submits a report, the system automatically classifies the repair: does this fall within the tenant's statutory responsibility, or is it a defect that belongs to you or the landlord?

That classification isn't based on a simple keyword list, but on the full context of the report: the type of repair, the description, and the legal criteria set out in the decree. The tenant gets an answer straight away that fits their situation. If the repair is their responsibility, that's explained clearly, including the legal basis. If it falls outside their responsibility, the report is immediately forwarded as a work order.

Less discussion, faster resolution

The benefit works both ways. For you, it means reports that are the tenant's responsibility don't needlessly end up in the work order queue. That saves time and money. For the tenant, it means getting clarity straight away, without having to wait for a member of staff to assess the report.

Clarity at the start of a report prevents most conflicts. The rise in defect cases at the Huurcommissie suggests that this clarity is often missing in current practice. The law has been on the books for more than twenty years. The question is whether you apply it actively to every report, or only after a tenant has run out of patience.