The build-to-rent (BTR) sector is experiencing significant growth at present, with more than £2bn in investment just in Q4 2021, according to global real estate advisor CBRE. Demand for these type of rental properties continues to grow at a faster rate than homes can be built across UK cities such as Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds, as well as in London. 

Purpose-built and professionally managed rental properties are highly appealing to various kinds of tenants including young professionals, as you might expect, but also over 50s and anyone who simply wants a straightforward and low-hassle renting experience. 

For landlords and property managers of BTR properties, offering an excellent level of service to tenants and keeping a competitive market rent is always balanced with trying to maximise the return. In many cases, the greatest opportunity for this comes in reducing operational running costs. The tricky part is in doing this without compromising on the services that tenants need and want, which can play a huge part in tenant happiness and their willingness to stay in a property long-term.

Tenant experience platforms, especially when incorporating functionality that also streamlines and simplifies operational processes for the property managers, can be the ideal solution to this problem.

How does improving tenant experience increase property management ROI?

Tenants who are happy with the service they receive in relation to their property, and who feel engaged with their community in the building in which they live, are less likely to want to move on to another property quickly. Using a tenant experience platform can help ensure that tenants are effectively communicated with, are able to manage all elements of their tenancy quickly and easily through an app or web portal, and offers the high level of service that modern tenants expect and value. 

Every property manager knows that costs can really stack up when it comes to changing tenants. Advertising properties, onboarding new tenants and having to deal with gaps between tenancies all come with an associated cost. Therefore, anything which encourages good tenants to stay as long as possible means that these costs are taken out of the equation and can therefore become part of the return. 

Reducing operational costs with a combined tenant and property management platform

Property management for multiple tenancies isn’t a simple job; there are dozens of different areas to stay on top of just to keep things running as smoothly as possible, let alone having the time and insight to look at ways of making things work better and more efficiently. This is where a property management platform can make a huge difference to operations. 

With a good platform, property managers can track and action multiple things easily, such as rent or service charge collection, maintenance issues or complaints, room bookings, tenancy renewal dates and essential communications with staff, contractors and tenants. All of the information is in one place, can be accessed easily across multiple devices and can be tailored to specific requirements to ensure that processes are as streamlined and efficient as possible. This alone can save money from the operational budget. 

Another opportunity that this type of platform offers is by collecting data on how tenants are using their homes and the building, to help provide insights on savings that could potentially be made on areas such as energy use, scheduled cleaning and maintenance and even make a difference to the rental portfolio’s carbon footprint.

There is no need for tenant experience and property management platforms to be separate technologies or subscriptions, as a single solution can serve both purposes and provide all the features needed. This can be a much more cost-effective way to meet these essential functions, meaning a further reduction in operational running costs. 

With the right tenant experience and property management platform, it’s possible to reduce operational costs whilst simultaneously improving the service that you offer to tenants, maximising your return without compromising on quality in any area. 

If you want to see how our platform can transform operations for your tenants and management, book a demo.