Boss of global architecture firm takes on Rightmove with AI-powered search platform for tenants
An AI-powered start-up launched by the former boss of a major architecture business wants to disrupt the duopoly of Rightmove and Zoopla by enabling renters to find homes by using normal everyday language – as opposed to simply being driven by post codes.
This has the power to revolutionise property search by opening up thousands of places that tenants might not have previously considered because current sites have not evolved to enable real language search, something AI now enables in everyday life.
Steven Charlton, former European boss of Perkins&Will, created nHabit initially as a way to measure vibrancy around schemes being designed by his new design house. His team patented new mapping software referencing points of interest across London that could be triangulated to calculate how attractive an area could be. Combined with the large language model his team also built, he found the software had another use: helping renters find properties in a more human way.
The model will come as a further blow to Rightmove which is facing a £1.5 billion lawsuit from competitors complaining about its position. Charlton built nHabit to help make it easier for smaller agents to succeed in a market dominated by a few big players.
Steven Charlton, founder at nHabit, said: “Instead of following the herd to the same old post codes, our aim is to enable people to search naturally for a place to live the way they’d discuss their perfect holiday with ChatGPT.
Renters can now find places they may not have previously discovered. For landlords, it enables them to be able to promote high quality homes that may not get the showcase they deserve due to their post code. For agents, it simply breaks the monopoly of the major platforms whilst opening up the potential for new fees and a much better customer experience.”
nHabit is targeting estate agents, build-to-rent operators, co-living providers and private landlords, without locking clients into long-term contracts. To mark its London launch, nHabit is running a consumer prize draw offering one UK resident £18,000 in cash, equivalent to 12 months of rent at £1,500 per month. The competition runs from 19th June to 31 August 2026, is open to UK residents aged 18 and over.
nHabit is an AI-powered property search platform that enables users to find rental homes using natural language. Powered by Milo, a proprietary large language model like Google or OpenAI connected to a three-dimensional graph database, that adds an additional layer to provide a more in-depth search. NHabit allows renters to describe their lifestyle requirements, commute preferences, safety concerns, and amenity needs in conversational terms. Unlike traditional postcode-based portals, the platform can identify personally suitable locations and properties, including in areas the user may never have considered. Founded in April 2025 by Steven Charlton, nHabit is headquartered in London.
The nHabit difference for agents:
· Transparent pricing: Pay as you go model starting at £10 per listing per month (with volume discounts up to 30%)
· Transparent premium pricing: Pay as you go model starting at £15 per premium listing per month (with volume discounts up to 30%)
· No lock-in: Choose the package that fits your business, scale up or down as needed
· Data intelligence reports including insights on market trends in bespoke coverage zones, tenant profiling, verified pricing and demand signals
· Actual innovation: AI-powered tenant matching, verified lead pipeline, neighbourhood compatibility scoring all working with deep analytics that
· traditional portals don’t provide
Please use direct links to the app stores:
Steven Charlton is the founder and CEO of nHabit. He trained at Edinburgh College of Art before serving as Managing Director of Perkins&Will’s Dubai office for six years, leading a multi-disciplinary practice across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. On returning to London, he founded i/o atelier, a design studio built at the intersection of data science and architecture, where he developed a reputation for using geospatial data and behavioural analytics to inform the design of buildings and places. He founded nHabit in April 2025, the self-funded, AI-native platform aimed at making rental search smarter for tenants and more commercially effective for the agents and operators who serve them.
Additional competition details
The competition requires entrants to download the app, create a free account and save five properties to an in-app wish list. A referral mechanic allows additional entries with no cap. The winner will be drawn on 11 September 2026, with payment made in 12 monthly instalments of £1,500 directly to a UK bank account. Full terms are available at Competition Rules.
Further details:
nhabit.com for renters
https://www.nhabit.com/for-agents for agents/enterprise
