Meet the innovator who pivoted from gaming to housing tech

“With 12 million people living in social housing and many councils facing financial difficulties, this is the most important project I have ever been a part of,” says Ben Roberts, the founder of Tenants’ Hub; one of nine companies involved in the Diatomic accelerator in the West Midlands. 

Tenants’ Hub is a fault reporting app and website for buildings that allows residents to report faults easily within minutes. Fault details are analysed by an AI assistant or a person, and used by maintenance teams who liaise with residents to get more details, arrange appointments, and fix issues efficiently – with automatic status updates and a full fault history timeline provided. 

Photographs and videos submitted online can be analysed using AI to ascertain the seriousness of a problem (such as mould or damp) and the system is able to predict when issues may arise in future. It can also identify buildings where there are repeated concerns, so resources can be allocated to where they are most needed. 

Ben says that with better geolocational data, time stamps and pictures “maintenance staff are more prepared to fix faults first time, can tackle multiple issues in a single visit, and can access and leave notes to help with future fixes.” 

The system can also offer residents advice on how to fix minor faults themselves and how to  prevent and treat mould, plus detect dangerous types of mould and issue a high priority warning.

Tenants’ Hub can also be used to report issues to a local authority such as potholes, late bin collections, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour. 

In short, Ben says the capturing of data, automation of processes and simplifying of decisions could “add up to a 10% cost saving on repairs and a 50% plus reduction in time to manage the process. 

“Everyone we spoke to during our Diatomic trial said they preferred our system to the previous way of reporting issues, and nine in ten said they would recommend it to a friend,” he adds.

“There's no need to phone anyone up with our system, and it was good to understand how people who are less tech-savvy might interact with the app. It was essential to make it simple and easy to use for everyone.” 

Ben Roberts, founder of Tenants’ Hub

Ben says he was grateful for the “positive energy” from Connected Places Catapult in helping to introduce him to project partner Birmingham City Council and support the company in its conversations. Following the trial, a larger scale demonstration with the council has been proposed.

Starting young as a computer coder 

Ben is a self-confessed software obsessive, but is otherwise “an ordinary guy, lucky enough to know a handful of world-class engineers inspired to work for such a good cause”. He started coding aged seven, and his school had a good computer department with a core of kids who enjoyed programming. 

Ben would create strategy and logic games on his programmable calculator and share them with friends at school in Wimbledon, southwest London. He went to King’s College London to study mechatronics, mechanical and electronic engineering, and in his spare time worked for Xen Games with a group of friends. They produced titles for mobile phones and tablet devices including a bestseller called Interstellar Flames 2, which Ben went to promote at the E3 gaming convention in California. 

“We made all sorts of games and they were remarkably good for the time,” he remembers. “We had 200 different phones we were testing the games out on; now there is Android and iPhone it is much simpler, and the coding is easier. But I remembered speaking to a venture capital firm which told me we needed a business plan, which was disheartening, so we stopped. A mistake I will never make again.” 

Ben then set up his own company Bendando Games, before joining an engineering firm wanting to apply skills he learnt in university; creating hardware and looking after programs that remotely monitor energy metering systems. 

Eight years later, he went freelance; developing IT systems for Vodafone and the Ministry of Defence, before developing fault management applications for Transport for London and a property developer in the West Midlands. 

Potential clients kept asking if they could have a similar app for their buildings. Ben created Tenants’ Hub at the start of 2020 before applying to take part in the Diatomic programme. 

“I had been looking forward to a holiday, but stayed at home to write the application,” he recalls. “It has been great to receive business support from the Catapult which is clearly focused on helping companies to improve technology and raise standards for the benefit of the country.” 

Simplifying the management of repairs 

One of the key benefits for residents using Tenants’ Hub to report an issue with their accommodation is that contractors will know what to expect to find before they arrive. “What happens all too often is someone turns up, but is not carrying the right tools for the job. Or there needs to be a preliminary property inspection before someone else goes to fix it. 

“But our system is simple: you take a photograph of the problem, fill out a few details, we use AI to analyse that, and the engineer sees exactly what needs to happen. We try to fix things first time and cut out any unnecessary steps.” 

Contractors message tenants directly through the app and council staff can keep a close eye on the work that has taken place. “At the very least, our approach should change the way people look at problems,” he adds. 

Tenants Hub was built by personal contributions from Ben and his team, supported by Diatomic’s trial funding. Now he is seeking private investment to grow the firm and expand from his current team of six software developers. 

“There are 12 million people in social homes in the UK, repairs to their homes are thought to cost £7 billion annually and have been rising by 15% year on year. If I could help save 10% of that, it would make an enormous difference not only to the UK economy but the people who live in those houses.

“This programme helped me understand that affecting change in councils will be a long road, but one I feel I have to walk down.”

Ben Roberts, founder of Tenants’ Hub

Read about the first year of the Diatomic programme in the West Midlands. Listen to a Connected Places Podcast on Inclusive Innovation in the West Midlands.

The DIATOMIC programme is part of the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator.