A survey has found that 73% of lettings professionals say the Renters Rights Act (RRA) has increased the administrative workload within their organisation.

Propoly commissioned a survey of lettings industry professionals, who were asked about the areas of their business most affected by the changes, the technology and processes they use to manage the additional workload, and the operational challenges they expect to face going forward.

Almost three quarters of lettings professionals (73%) reported an increase in administrative workload, with one in four (25%) saying that the impact on their organisation has been ‘significant’.

Compliance and record keeping was cited as the area contributing most to the increased workload, accounting for 18% of responses. This was followed by rent reviews (16%), and possessions and tenancy endings (14%).

The changes are also affecting the way teams work together. Half of respondents (50%) said that their lettings and property management teams are having to work much more closely as a result of the new rules.

However, the technology used to support this additional workload remains fragmented for many businesses.

Just 17% said their business uses one primary technology system to help manage the new administrative demands. 

The same proportion, 17%, said they are still relying heavily on emails, spreadsheets and other disconnected processes, while 66% said their business has a number of different, disconnected technology systems in place.

When asked where better integration between systems would be most beneficial, respondents highlighted landlord communication and decision making (17%). Tenant referencing, compliance, and tenant communications followed with 16% respectively.

This need for greater connectivity is reflected in the amount of manual work still required during a tenancy. Some 61% of respondents said their teams have to spend time manually transferring, re-entering or duplicating information between different systems over the lifetime of a single tenancy. For 16%, this happens frequently.

As a result, more than half of respondents (52%) said that better integration between their systems would improve operational efficiency. Just 5% believed greater integration would have a negative impact.

Looking ahead, lettings professionals believe the biggest operational challenge arising from the Renters Rights Act will be keeping up with compliance requirements, cited by 28% of respondents. 

Maintaining profitability while managing the additional work required was the next biggest concern at 21%, followed by the general management of the increased administrative workload at 16%.