Almost three-quarters of lettings professionals say the Renters’ Rights Act has increased their administrative workload, with fragmented technology adding to the pressure.
Research from Propoly found 73% of industry professionals had experienced an increase in administration since the legislation came into force on 1 May, including 25% who described the impact on their organisation as significant.
Compliance and record keeping was identified as the biggest contributor to the additional workload, cited by 18%, followed by rent reviews at 16% and possessions and tenancy endings at 14%.
Half of respondents also said lettings and property management teams are having to work much more closely as a result of the new requirements.
FRAGMENTED TECHNOLOGY
Propoly’s research found only 17% of businesses use one primary technology system to manage the additional administration.
Two-thirds use a number of disconnected technology systems, while another 17% remain heavily reliant on emails, spreadsheets and other disconnected processes.
This fragmentation is creating additional manual work, with 61% of respondents saying staff have to transfer, re-enter or duplicate information between systems during the lifetime of a tenancy.
More than half, 52%, believe better integration between their systems would improve operational efficiency.
Landlord communication and decision-making was identified as the area where greater integration could have the biggest impact, followed by tenant referencing, compliance and tenant communications.
COMPLIANCE CHALLENGE
Looking ahead, 28% of lettings professionals expect keeping up with compliance requirements to be their biggest operational challenge arising from the Act.
Maintaining profitability while absorbing the additional work was cited by 21%, with 16% identifying management of the overall administrative burden.
“The challenge for the sector is making information can move efficiently between teams and systems.”
Sim Sekhon (main picture, inset), Group Chief Executive Officer at Propoly, says: “More than 100 days on from the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act, it is clear that the impact is being felt not only in terms of the additional work required, but also in the way lettings businesses need to organise their people, processes and technology.
“The challenge for the sector is not simply dealing with more administration. It is making sure that information can move efficiently between the teams and systems involved in managing a tenancy, without creating unnecessary duplication or additional manual work.
“As the new requirements become embedded into day-to-day operations, businesses will be looking for ways to manage compliance and service delivery efficiently while maintaining profitability. Technology has an important role to play, but the value comes from reducing fragmentation rather than simply adding another platform to an already crowded process.”
