How to use AI to check a rent increase before you send it

Step 1: see which units sit below market

Start with the numbers you already hold. Ask: "List my occupied units with current rent, market rent and the gap, biggest gap first." The assistant uses the rent roll and the unit list, which carry the rent on each lease and the market rent you set for each unit.

Example a made-up four-unit building has market rent of $1,300 on each unit. Units pay $1,300, $1,250, $1,180 and $1,150. The gaps are $0, $50, $120 and $150. The two largest gaps are the first renewals to look at.

Market rent here is a number you or your records hold, not a live market survey. If you want the assistant to reason about comparable rents, give it the comparables yourself and treat its view as an opinion to check.

Step 2: know the rules for the state first

Rent increases are limited or conditioned in some places and open in others. A few examples are in maximum rent increase in California and Washington and Oregon's cap. Notice periods vary too. The overview is in rent increase notice requirements.

The renewal draft checks the new rent against the rules DoorKeeping has for the property's state. If a state's rules have not been checked yet, say so to the assistant and do your own check. A tool that cannot check must say it cannot, not pass the number.

Step 3: draft the renewal at the new rent

1. Pick the unit and the rent: "Draft a 12 month renewal for 5A at $1,250."
2. The assistant shows the draft: new start date the day after the lease ends, the term, the new rent, the old rent and the change as "Up $70 a month". Nothing is saved.
3. If the rule check refuses the rent, the assistant tells you why. Lower the number or wait.
4. Say yes. The draft is saved on doorkeeping.com. An open renewal for the same dates is reused rather than duplicated.
5. Open it there, read it and tap Send for signatures when you are ready.

Leave the rent out and the draft keeps the current rent. That is a valid choice when a tenant is reliable and the market gap is small.

What the assistant should not decide

• Whether to raise the rent at all. A paid-on-time tenant who leaves costs you a vacancy. The cost of an empty unit is worked out in the cost of a vacant apartment per day.
• Anything about which tenants to raise based on who they are. Choosing by a protected trait is illegal. Raise by unit, lease date and market gap, the same way for everyone.
• Voucher tenants. Raising rent for a Housing Choice Voucher tenant goes through the housing authority. See raising rent for a Section 8 tenant.

How DoorKeeping handles it

The renewal tool previews, checks the state's rent increase rules and saves a draft only on your yes. Nothing goes to the tenant from the chat. Rent stays in your own bank account, and anything involving money waits for your approval. A renewal changes what a tenant owes and signs, so sending it is always your step.

Sources

1. DoorKeeping: Connect Claude or ChatGPT (steps and tools list), read Oct 30, 2026
2. Model Context Protocol: Architecture overview (tools, resources, prompts), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Can the AI send the rent increase to my tenant?

No. It can save a draft. You read it on doorkeeping.com and send it for signature yourself.

Does the AI know the market rent?

It knows the market rent saved for each unit in your records. For comparable listings, give it your own examples and check its reasoning.

What if my state has a rent cap?

The renewal draft is checked against the state rules DoorKeeping holds and the tool refuses a rent above the limit, with the reason.

Should I raise every tenant by the same percent?

Not necessarily. Use the unit's gap to market and the lease date, and treat all tenants by the same rule.