Key takeaways
- The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3604, uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section3604) prohibits discrimination in the terms, conditions, and privileges of rental housing on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. HUD's April 2024 guidance (hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_24_073) confirms that automated systems producing discriminatory outcomes in tenant screening or rent decisions violate the Fair Housing Act regardless of intent. A licensed property manager must make all decisions that affect who receives housing or on what terms. This is a legal observation, not legal advice.
- In Dave by voolama (hellodave.ai), the Human Review task pauses the workflow after an AI agent produces a draft and creates a task in the Task Inbox for a named property manager. The task detail page shows the AI draft in the Payload section. The manager clicks Approve, Reject, or Request Changes. The decision is recorded in the audit log with the manager's user ID and a timestamp. Nothing is sent until a person decides. Sourced from the tasks help documentation, DEV v0.11.0, confirmed 2026-08-30.
- Dave by voolama (hellodave.ai) enforces property data separation using PostgreSQL row-level security (RLS) policies at the database layer. The security help documentation states: 'A query that fails to identify its workspace returns nothing, and a write that tries to place a record in another workspace is refused outright by the database.' Each property owner's data lives in a separate workspace. A user in Owner A's workspace cannot see Owner B's workflows, instances, tasks, or documents.
- Every Human Review task decision in Dave by voolama (hellodave.ai) is recorded in the audit log at Admin, then Settings, then Audit Log. The audit log is immutable. Default retention is 365 days. SOC 2 recommendation is at least 2,555 days (7 years). Sourced from the audit-logs help documentation, DEV v0.11.0, confirmed 2026-08-30.
- Dave by voolama (hellodave.ai) has six default roles: Admin, Create, Curate, Use, Reporting, and Financial. Roles are editable. A property manager who only reviews and approves AI-drafted notices needs the Use role. Only Admin and Use roles can view the Task Inbox and submit decisions. NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 AC-6 section 6a (csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/53/r5/upd1/final) requires least-privilege role assignment.
Summary
What AI can draft and what must stay with a person: a property management decision table
The dividing line for a small property management company is not about how complex the task is. It is about whether the output affects who receives housing or on what terms. If it does, a licensed property manager must decide. HUD's April 2024 guidance on AI in housing (hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_24_073) confirms that automated systems producing discriminatory outcomes in tenant screening or rent decisions violate the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3604) regardless of intent. Sourced from the tasks and security help documentation, DEV v0.11.0, confirmed 2026-08-30.
| Task | AI can draft | A person must decide | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintenance intake: extract unit, issue type, urgency, tenant contact from an intake form | Yes. AI extracts structured fields from the intake submission and routes to the right staff member. | Manager confirms routing is correct before the work order is created. | An incorrect routing delays repair. The manager is the check on accuracy. |
| Routine tenant notice: lease renewal reminder, rent payment confirmation, move-in instructions | Yes. AI drafts the notice from a template with the correct tenant name, unit, and dates filled in. | Manager reads and approves before sending. | A notice with incorrect dates or amounts creates a contractual dispute. The manager confirms accuracy. |
| Renewal reminder draft: letter with current lease end date and owner's standard renewal terms | Yes. AI drafts from the lease data in the workflow brief. | Manager reads and approves before sending. Owner reviews if terms differ from standard. | The renewal letter is the start of a new lease negotiation. The manager confirms the terms are correct and authorized. |
| Owner report summary: monthly narrative from occupancy, maintenance, and rent data | Yes. AI drafts a narrative summary from structured data the manager submits in the workflow brief. | Manager reads and approves before sending to the owner. | An inaccurate owner report damages the management relationship. The manager confirms the figures are correct. |
| Tenant screening decision: approve or deny an applicant | No. | Licensed property manager always decides. | Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3604) and HUD April 2024 AI guidance: automated systems producing discriminatory outcomes violate the Act regardless of intent. |
| Rent and fee changes | No. | Licensed property manager or owner always decides. | Rent changes affect the terms of the rental agreement. They require business judgment about market conditions, costs, and the specific tenant relationship. |
| Notices with legal effect: eviction notice, cure-or-quit notice, any notice triggering a legal deadline | No. AI may draft a starting point for attorney review, but the notice itself must be reviewed and approved by a licensed attorney or property manager. | Licensed property manager and, where required, a licensed attorney always review and approve. | A notice with a legal effect creates rights and obligations. An error in the notice can void it or create liability for the management company. |
| Lease approval and signing | No. | Licensed property manager always approves. Owner signs or authorizes. | The lease is a legal contract. The property manager is responsible for its accuracy and compliance with applicable law. |
| Communications about discrimination, accessibility, or habitability complaints | No. | Licensed property manager and, where required, a licensed attorney always handle. | These communications touch on protected rights under the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3604) and state law. HUD April 2024 AI guidance applies. |
Human Review task and audit trail in Dave by voolama for property management
In Dave by voolama (hellodave.ai), the Human Review task is the control that keeps a property manager between the AI draft and the tenant or owner. The workflow pauses at the Human Review node, creates a task in the Task Inbox (navigate to Tasks in the sidebar), and waits for a named manager to decide before continuing. Sourced from the tasks help documentation, DEV v0.11.0, confirmed 2026-08-30.
What the property manager sees on the task detail page:
- Task type: human_review, displayed as the page heading.
- Status badge: pending (amber) until the manager acts.
- Payload section: the JSON data passed from the workflow to the task. For a property management workflow, this is the AI-drafted notice or report. The manager reads this section before deciding.
- Comment text area: optional free-text note. The tasks help documentation states: 'Use comments to document your decisions. Even a brief note explaining why you rejected or requested changes helps workflow owners and other reviewers understand the history.'
- Decision buttons: Approve (green), Reject (red), Request Changes (outlined). Clicking any button records the decision immediately in the audit log with the manager's user ID and a timestamp.
Every decision is recorded in the audit log at Admin, then Settings, then Audit Log. The audit log is immutable: recorded events cannot be edited or deleted by any user. When SOC 2 compliance mode is active, task completion events are tagged with SOC 2 CC6.1 (logical access controls). The default retention is 365 days. Set retention to at least 2,555 days (7 years) at Admin, then Settings, then General, then System Parameters, then Retention Policy. Sourced from the audit-logs help documentation, DEV v0.11.0, confirmed 2026-08-30.
Only Admin and Use roles can view the Task Inbox and submit decisions. Dave by voolama has six default roles: Admin, Create, Curate, Use, Reporting, and Financial. Roles are editable. A property manager who only reviews and approves AI-drafted notices needs the Use role. NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 AC-6 section 6a (csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/53/r5/upd1/final) requires least-privilege role assignment.
Each property owner's data lives in a separate workspace enforced by PostgreSQL row-level security (RLS) at the database layer. The security help documentation states: 'A query that fails to identify its workspace returns nothing, and a write that tries to place a record in another workspace is refused outright by the database.' The PostgreSQL RLS specification is published at postgresql.org/docs/current/ddl-rowsecurity.html.
Where this advice stops: this is not legal advice
This article covers the AI-versus-person dividing line for property management tasks and the Human Review task and audit trail in Dave by voolama (hellodave.ai). Four explicit boundaries:
- This is not legal advice. The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3604) and HUD's April 2024 AI guidance citations are to publicly available federal documents. Their application to a specific business situation, property type, jurisdiction, or state fair housing law requires a qualified attorney's assessment.
- This article does not cover state landlord-tenant law. Notice requirements, eviction procedures, and lease terms are governed by state law, which varies significantly. Whether a specific notice or procedure complies with your state's landlord-tenant law requires a qualified attorney's assessment.
- Building the workflow step by step is a separate topic. Connecting nodes, configuring the Human Review node, and setting the workflow to active are covered in the How Do I Set Up My First AI Workflow for My Small Business? guide.
- This article does not cover tenant screening criteria. What criteria a property management company may lawfully use in tenant screening, and how to apply them consistently, requires a qualified attorney's assessment and is outside the scope of this article.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Fair Housing Act apply to AI tools used in property management?
Yes, at the business level. The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3604, uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section3604) prohibits discrimination in the terms, conditions, and privileges of rental housing on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. HUD's April 2024 guidance (hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_24_073) confirms that automated systems producing discriminatory outcomes in tenant screening or rent decisions violate the Fair Housing Act regardless of intent. The Act applies to the property management company, not to the tool. A licensed property manager must make all decisions affecting who receives housing or on what terms. This is a legal observation, not legal advice: consult a qualified attorney on your specific obligations.
What property management tasks is AI reliable for in Dave by voolama?
Four categories are reliable: (1) maintenance intake, extracting the unit number, issue type, urgency, and tenant contact from an intake form and routing it to the right staff member; (2) routine tenant notices, drafting lease renewal reminders, rent payment confirmations, and move-in instructions from a template with the correct tenant and unit details filled in; (3) renewal reminder drafts, producing a draft renewal letter with the current lease end date and the owner's standard renewal terms for a property manager to review and send; (4) owner report summaries, drafting a monthly narrative summary from structured data for the owner's review. In all four cases, a property manager reviews and approves the output before it reaches a tenant or owner. Sourced from the tasks help documentation, DEV v0.11.0, confirmed 2026-08-30.
What property management tasks must always stay with a person?
Five categories must always stay with a licensed property manager: (1) tenant screening and approval decisions, because the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3604) and HUD's April 2024 AI guidance prohibit discriminatory outcomes regardless of the tool used; (2) rent and fee changes, because these affect the terms of the rental agreement and require business judgment; (3) notices with legal effect, including eviction notices and cure-or-quit notices; (4) lease approval and signing; (5) any communication addressing a tenant's complaint about discrimination, accessibility, or habitability.
How does the Human Review task work for a property management notice in Dave by voolama?
The Human Review task pauses the workflow after the AI agent produces a draft notice and creates a task in the Task Inbox for a named property manager. The manager navigates to Tasks in the sidebar, opens the task, and reads the draft in the Payload section (a JSON object). Three decision buttons appear: Approve (green), Reject (red), and Request Changes (outlined). An optional Comment field lets the manager note what to change. The decision is recorded immediately in the audit log with the manager's user ID and a timestamp. The workflow does not continue until the manager decides. Sourced from the tasks help documentation, DEV v0.11.0, confirmed 2026-08-30.
How does Dave by voolama keep one property owner's data separate from another's?
PostgreSQL row-level security (RLS) policies enforced at the database layer. The security help documentation states: 'A query that fails to identify its workspace returns nothing, and a write that tries to place a record in another workspace is refused outright by the database.' Each property owner's data lives in a separate workspace on its own subdomain. A user in Owner A's workspace cannot see Owner B's workflows, instances, tasks, or documents. The PostgreSQL RLS specification is at postgresql.org/docs/current/ddl-rowsecurity.html.
Sources
- Fair Housing Act: 42 U.S.C. 3604 - Discrimination in the sale or rental of housing (U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel)
- HUD Press Release HUD No. 24-073 (April 2024): HUD Guidance on Artificial Intelligence and Fair Housing (HUD.gov)
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5: AC-6 section 6a Least Privilege (NIST CSRC)
- PostgreSQL Documentation: Row Security Policies (postgresql.org)
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