The BTR sector has established a resident-first model designed around service and transparency
Tenants are seeing rental reform all over the news and know their rights will soon become law. In 2024, the rest of the UK saw Scottish rental reform quickly escalate, with several local authorities having to declare housing emergencies as they were unable to adequately respond to rising levels of homelessness amid a lack of housing supply. This served as a clear warning: rental reform must not deter landlords from entering and staying in the sector.
The industry now needs to establish a balance between resident empowerment and adding value, while managing realistic expectations.
While landlords are lobbying the government to give them at least six months’ notice before making any changes to legal requirements, tenants are already holding the sector to account on public platforms such as community forums, review sites and social media – and that is before the bill is set to make a digital compliance database the law.
Tenants’ expectations have been shifting for some time. But while private landlords have struggled to meet these fast-changing expectations, the BTR sector has established a resident-first model designed around service and transparency. In Sigma’s 2023 trends report, 61% of renters polled expected a response within one hour for an emergency maintenance request and some tenants now view the need to make a simple maintenance request in the same light as making a complaint.
Transforming the sector
The original premise of the Renters’ Rights Bill was to enact long-overdue private rented sector reforms, giving tenants more security to stay in their homes and freedom to leave substandard properties. With limits on rent hikes, the abolition of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, rights to keep pets and the establishment of a private rented sector database, it is easy to get swept away by the extent to which this will transform the sector.
However, these shifts represent minimum compliance, not excellence. True tenant satisfaction must go further. BTR is a great example of this in practice, offering security through longer tenancies, fairness through transparency and professional management, demonstrating the ceiling of what this legislation can help other landlords achieve.
Luckily, there are practical steps that landlords and Asset Managers can take to boost tenant satisfaction. The first is responsiveness: investing in tech can help speed up day-to-day communications such as maintenance requests, helping tenants feel that their issues are being heard. Clear maintenance timelines and engagement through a constant feedback loop are key. These practices move beyond compliance to create loyalty, treating tenants as valued customers to reduce churn.
Further efficiency gains, in respect of compliance process, systems and resident communication via apps and real-time digital means, are a welcome by-product of a commitment to drive improved satisfaction.
Despite the challenges and tensions in the market – rising costs for landlords versus rising tenant expectations – this is a unique opportunity for the rental sector to reset relationships. Those who prioritise satisfaction will achieve better tenant retention, fewer disputes and stronger financial resilience.
BTR is often an example of tenant-first operations done right, but to future-proof the rental market, we must move beyond just meeting the law to putting tenants first.
