Strategies for managing rental income and cash flow under the Renters’ Rights Act

The proptech sector has been talking about the changes that the Renters’ Rights Act will bring for what feels like years, but the time is now upon us, and letting agents are facing the day-to-day reality of these changes. At the forefront of every landlord’s and letting agent’s mind is the importance of balancing the books as the changes come into effect.

Managing properties efficiently, chasing payments, keeping accurate records, and reconciling payments swiftly are vital to ensuring compliance with the new Renters’ Rights Act. Yet many letting agents still find themselves grappling with these essential services manually or using property management software that doesn’t provide real-time, accurate information for their landlords.

Letting agents must adapt quickly and professionalise their services to survive in the long term.

Clear, reliable, and efficient communication from letting agents

For private landlords, these are anxious times, and they are looking for clear communication and transparency from their letting agents. Nothing provides more reassurance than speaking to a letting agent who has all the information at their fingertips and the confidence to provide real-time, accurate updates and payments for landlords.

Those letting agents leveraging the right property management tools, such as PayProp, can provide an efficient and reassuring service to landlords, giving them more time to focus on building returns on investment.

If your letting agents are spending hours manually chasing payments and reconciling accounts, they are wasting time that could be spent growing your business and supporting your landlords.

The lettings business is becoming more about risk management

The best letting agents are adapting quickly, ensuring they are experts in the new legislation, becoming trusted advisers to their landlords, and minimising risks.

• Staff must be fully trained in the new legislation.
• Provide documentation and guides for staff and landlords to build confidence and consistency of approach.
• Meet regularly as a team to discuss new challenges and agree on the best solutions.
• Leverage external tools and software to manage risk and maintain consistency.
• Offer monthly forums for landlords to take part in Q&A sessions with your highly trained teams.
• Showcase success stories from existing landlords to attract self-managing landlords who now require additional support.

“I’ve been in the property industry for a long time. I know how inefficient manual systems can be. PayProp has completely taken that burden away.”

Hari Patel

Look for recommended, trusted, and reliable property management software

In a world of new and exciting AI proptech, there are a lot of options to consider, but when it comes to managing cash flow, no one wants to take risks. Landlords and letting agents need to know where every penny is at every moment.

Be sure to look for established property management software with a strong reputation among trusted professionals.

Propertymark is a great place to start if you want reassurance that software meets the required industry standards, and we’re proud to say that PayProp is one of a select few service providers listed as an Industry Supplier by Propertymark. Propertymark works to raise professional standards among letting agents by promoting education and qualifications within the sector.

Ask any providers you are considering: “How much downtime has the system had in the last 12 months?” Nothing erodes trust more than technology issues when it comes to cash flow management. That’s why PayProp focuses on 100% availability throughout the year and why letting agents have voted us winners at the ESTAS for eight years running.

Serious about property management? You need real-time cash flow information.

Most property management software is at least a day behind when it comes to payment collections and reconciliation, or it still requires large amounts of manual input, which can lead to costly and time-consuming errors. This means thousands of landlords are at risk of missing mortgage payments and other expenses if they cannot closely track exactly where every penny is.

Choose a system that allows you to know:

• how much rent has been received,
• which tenants still owe money,
• which landlords and contractors have been paid, and
• how much money still needs to be reconciled.

As PayProp has direct banking integration with NatWest, one of the world’s most trusted banks, you can be confident that money is being tracked every step of the way. You can also access everything through your client account without needing to log in to multiple systems.

How can letting agents ensure rental property information is up to date and accurate?

Many landlords will struggle to keep up with the new rules, and evictions could become slower and more procedural as a result. The Renters’ Rights Act means it is now more important than ever that landlords have detailed information about how properties are being managed and can quickly provide a clear trail of communications should there be a need for eviction.

The communications log records every message sent from PayProp. This includes every invoice, statement, payment reminder, arrears letter, and text message. It not only shows what was sent and when it was sent, but also when it was opened and how many times it was read. This gives you additional evidence you can provide if an eviction reaches court, showing whether a tenant opened but ignored payment reminders and arrears letters before eviction proceedings became necessary.

The audit log also provides an undeletable record of the money invoiced to and paid by every tenant. This means that if a tenant stops paying rent and eviction becomes necessary, you have all the evidence you need directly from the client account should a Section 8 eviction reach court.

By being proactive now and putting the right systems and foundations in place, agents can feel confident that they can maintain and grow relationships with existing landlords while also becoming an attractive option for smaller landlords who now require greater compliance and management expertise.

Take a look at the best property management software for managing your accounts

‍