Reducing Call Volumes with Tenant Self-Service

Published: December 2025

For most housing providers, the contact centre is the single biggest operational cost in customer service. Tenants call to check their rent balance, chase a repair, request a callback, update their phone number or ask for a copy of a letter. Each of these calls costs time and money, and during peak periods, tenants face long wait times that damage satisfaction and drive up complaints.

The good news is that the majority of these calls are for tasks that tenants can do themselves, if you give them the right tools. Providers who have invested in digital self-service are seeing significant reductions in call volumes while simultaneously improving tenant satisfaction. Here is how they are doing it.

Understand what your tenants are calling about

Before you can shift contacts to digital channels, you need to know where the volume is. Most providers find that a small number of query types account for the majority of calls: rent balance enquiries, repairs reporting and chasing, payment queries and contact detail updates. These are all tasks that lend themselves well to self-service. Analysing your call data to identify the top ten call reasons gives you a clear priority list for digitisation.

Make self-service genuinely easier than calling

Channel shift only works when the digital option is easier than picking up the phone. A clunky portal that takes five minutes to log in to, or a repairs form with twenty fields, will not convince anyone to stop calling. The self-service experience needs to be fast, intuitive and available on mobile. Tenants should be able to check their balance in seconds, report a repair with a few taps and track its progress without calling back.

A native mobile app is particularly effective here. Tenants carry their phone everywhere, and an app provides instant access without needing to navigate to a website and log in through a browser. Providers with mobile apps consistently report higher adoption rates than those relying on web-only portals.

Automate the follow-up

A large proportion of calls are not initial contacts but follow-ups. Tenants calling to check if their repair has been scheduled, whether their payment has been received or what the next step in their onboarding process is. Automated notifications eliminate these calls entirely. When a repair status changes, the tenant gets a notification. When a payment clears, they see it in their transaction history immediately. When a task needs completing, they get a reminder.

Give tenants access to their documents

Requests for copies of letters, tenancy agreements, statements and other documents generate a steady stream of calls and post. Integrating document management into your tenant portal, so tenants can access, download and even sign documents digitally, removes this entire category of contact. SharePoint integration makes it straightforward to manage documents centrally while giving tenants secure access through their portal.

Promote the digital channel actively

Building a portal is not enough; you need to actively promote it. Successful providers include the portal link in every letter, email and text message. They train frontline staff to guide callers to self-service for simple queries. Some providers use IVR messages to redirect callers to the app for balance checks and repairs logging. The key is making digital the default option rather than a hidden alternative.

Measure and iterate

Tracking portal adoption, feature usage and call volume trends allows you to see what is working and where tenants are still hitting barriers. If repairs are being reported online but tenants are still calling for updates, that tells you the status tracking needs improving. A good reporting dashboard gives your team visibility of engagement metrics so they can make data-driven decisions about where to invest next.

The results speak for themselves

Housing providers who commit to digital self-service typically see a measurable reduction in avoidable contacts within the first year. The cost savings are significant, but the benefits go beyond the bottom line. Tenants get faster, more convenient access to services. Staff are freed up to handle complex cases that genuinely need a human touch. And satisfaction scores improve as tenants feel more in control of their tenancy.

Want to see how your digital offering compares to best practice? Our Digital Engagement Health Check takes just three minutes and gives you an instant benchmark.