A leasing call has about ninety seconds before the prospect decides whether to book the tour or call the next listing. The questions you ask in those ninety seconds decide whether the tour is worth your time, and, because an AI receptionist asks them identically on every call, they also decide whether your prequalification is fair. Here are the ones to ask, the ones to leave out, and how to phrase them.
Key takeaways
- Prequalify on the call with five to seven questions about the tenancy: move-in date, term, occupants, pets, vehicles, income range against your published standard, and whether they have seen the unit online.
- Ask every caller the same questions in the same order. Consistency is what an AI receptionist is good at, and it is what fair housing rules ask for.
- Do not ask about anything in a protected class, and do not let the agent infer it. Familial status, disability, national origin, religion, and the rest are never screening questions.
- The answers arrive structured, so the tour calendar fills with prospects who match the unit, and the transcript shows exactly what was asked.
Why the questions matter more with an AI
A leasing agent asks slightly different questions to every caller, depending on the day. That is normal and it is also a risk: two prospects screened differently is the pattern a fair housing complaint looks for. An AI receptionist asks exactly what you told it to, every time, and records it. That makes your process auditable, which is a benefit, and it means the list you give it has to be right, because a bad question is now asked on every call. Screening is one part of the landlord job, and the second half of finding tenants for a rental.
The questions to ask
- Which unit or property are you calling about? Confirms the listing, the rent, and availability from your data.
- When are you looking to move in? A unit available October 1 is not a match for a February move.
- How long a lease are you looking for? If you only offer 12 months, say so now.
- How many people will be living in the unit? Occupancy limits are a property fact. Ask the count, never who they are.
- Any pets? Type and count, against your pet policy. Assistance animals are not pets and the agent should not treat a disclosure of one as a screening factor.
- Do you need parking, and how many vehicles? Only if parking is limited.
- Our income standard is stated on the listing. Does that work for your household? A yes-or-no against a published standard, not a salary question. This is where local rules on income source most often apply.
- Have you seen the photos and the floor plan online? A caller who has is a much better tour.
The questions never to ask, or let it infer
- Anything about children, marriage, pregnancy, or family plans. Ask the occupant count and stop.
- Anything about disability, health, medication, or an assistance animal beyond your written accommodation process.
- Anything about where someone is from, their accent, their language, their religion, or their name's origin.
- Anything about age beyond confirming the applicant is an adult, unless the property is a qualified senior community.
- "What do you do for a living?" as a screening question. Income against the standard is the question; occupation is not.
Tell the agent explicitly not to ask these and not to volunteer opinions if a caller raises them. It will follow that instruction on every call, which a tired human on call forty may not. The comparison of AI for lead qualification shows which AI receptionists let you write these questions yourself.
How the call goes
A leasing call, Tuesday 7:30pm
What you do with the answers
Every call arrives as a summary with the structured answers and the transcript. The tour calendar fills only with callers who match the unit on date, term, occupancy, and pets. The ones who do not match still get an answer and a next step, which is the other half of fair treatment: nobody is quietly ignored. And if a question ever comes up about how a prospect was screened, the transcript shows the exact words. The property management guide covers what happens after the tour, including the application fee collected on the call.