Flats: App could save councils money
A claims management company (CMC) has worked with Salford University to launch an app, backed by artificial intelligence (AI), to identify housing disrepair.
Lawrence Sykes, operations director and co-founder of claim.co.uk, said the long-term aim was to build a mediation tool so housing disrepair cases could be handled without a lawyer.
While housing disrepair cases seemed to have become a “go-to claim”, he said, it could be “very expensive” both to get the right type of motivated claimant on board and for councils.
IntelOptic is an AI platform trained on over 27,000 datasets that can analyse disrepair images in just 1.5 seconds with up to 95% accuracy.
A scientific paper detailing the AI technology used in IntelOptic is currently pending publication, “further validating its innovative approach”, the university said.
The app aims to reduce the need for extensive onsite inspections, while early detection could allow minor issues to be addressed before they become major problems, easing the financial burden on local authorities.
The idea for the app emerged in 2022 after Mr Sykes and co-founder Ben Snape attended a free programme at Salford University for SMEs interested in developing AI products. At the end, participants could pitch their ideas to the university.
“Our idea was to create an app, using AI, so that tenants can walk around their houses taking pictures of disrepair. Our technology recognises what the issue is.”
Version 1 of the app, which went live earlier this month, can detect damp and mould, and version 2, expected to launch in the coming weeks, will be able to detect cracks and leaks in windows, walls and ceilings.
The app is free and Mr Sykes said it was already being used, but did not disclose by how many people. It is funded by money made by referring disrepair cases to law firms.
He said four developers were working on the app at claim.co.uk, a trading name of the Fairweather Group. The CMC has 15 staff and is based in Rochdale.
“It’s very early days, but we genuinely believe that the technology can reduce the amount of health issues experienced by tenants.”
Mr Sykes said the CMC funded the development cost of creating the app, which he hoped would “disrupt the market”.
The long-term goal was to build a mediation tool, which would enable councils and housing associations to see disrepair and enable them to carry out repairs “without involving lawyers”.
Councils and housing associations would pay a “flat monthly fee” for access to the app and the ability to mediate the claim before the tenants went to a lawyer.
With average legal costs for local authorities running at around £15,000 per claim, this could save them “tens of thousands of pounds”.
A spokesperson for the university said Taha Mansouri and Ali Alameer, lecturers in AI, collaborated in developing “the core computer vision model” for the app.
Mr Mansouri described the university’s work with claim.co.uk as “an impactful example of Salford’s approach to applying AI to solve real-world problems by sharing expertise and educating skilled professionals”.
Mr Sykes added that development of the app was inspired by the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale in December 2020 due to exposure to severe damp and mould.
As a solicitor, I’ve always felt a bittersweet whilst running these cases. Knowing that I am affecting Councils and ultimately the public purse which I pay into heavily. It was only a matter of time until a solution like this was created, and I will be happy to embrace it.