The residential lettings industry still manages many large portfolios as though they’re simply collections of individual tenancies.

While that works on small portfolios, but it doesn’t work when landlords own 50, 100 or 200 properties. At that point, the challenge is no longer property management alone but portfolio management.

My feeling, from working extensively with landlords of all sizes, is that the industry must move towards a more coordinated, transparent and performance-focused model.

Traditional property management performs an essential role: properties must be marketed, tenants supported, rents collected, repairs coordinated and regulatory requirements met. But a model primarily organised around individual properties and tenancies does not always give the owner of a larger portfolio the oversight they need because a portfolio of over 50 properties has different management requirements. 

For example, the landlord must consider how rents are performing across different locations, where avoidable voids are occurring, whether maintenance costs are proportionate, which properties require investment and whether compliance requirements are being managed consistently.

It is no longer enough to know what is happening at each property: the owner also needs to understand what is happening across the portfolio as a whole.

The landlord is not necessarily the portfolio coordinator

One of the clearest signs that a management structure is no longer working effectively is when the landlord becomes the link between everyone involved.

Different agents may manage properties in different locations. Maintenance contractors, accountants and specialist advisers may operate independently. Reports arrive at different times and in different formats. Problems are escalated property by property, often without a single person maintaining an overview.

The landlord can then spend a disproportionate amount of time requesting updates, reconciling information and making sure agreed actions are followed through, and this is particularly frustrating because many owners appoint professional managers precisely to reduce their day-to-day involvement.

A larger portfolio needs one clearly accountable relationship: someone who understands the client’s properties, objectives and priorities, coordinates the teams involved and maintains oversight of the actions required.

However, one person should not personally deliver every element of the service as larger portfolios need access to specialists who operate as part of a coordinated.

More reports do not necessarily create greater visibility

Larger landlords rarely suffer from a complete absence of information, but sometimes the information is fragmented or difficult to turn into meaningful actions.

For example, a landlord might receive tenancy updates, individual property statements, maintenance invoices and arrears reports, yet still be unable to answer some important portfolio-level questions, for example on where void periods are increasing, which rents have not recently been reviewed, the recurrence of maintenance issues, increases in operational expenditure etc. Effective portfolio reporting should not just cover what has already happened but help the client decide what needs to happen next.

This requires information to be brought together in a consistent and useful format. A personalised dashboard and regular performance reviews can help identify patterns, compare assets and establish priorities and the value comes from providing clearer insight and creating accountability for the resulting actions.

Moving from reactive to proactive management

Property management will always involve an element of reaction – boilers fail, tenants report problems and unexpected work is sometimes unavoidable – but larger portfolios require a proactive approach considers upcoming tenancy events, rent reviews, planned maintenance, refurbishment requirements and compliance deadlines before they become urgent.

Not every improvement requires significant expenditure. Better planning, earlier intervention and clearer communication can all contribute to more efficient portfolio operations.

Consistency becomes more important at scale

As the number of properties increases, inconsistency creates both operational difficulty and risk. Different approaches to inspections, inventories, maintenance approvals, rent reviews and record-keeping can make it difficult for the owner to establish whether every property is being managed to the same standard – which is why larger portfolios benefit from clearly defined processes, agreed service standards and consistent quality controls.

Because property types, rental markets and tenant demand will vary it is important to combine consistent governance with the flexibility to respond to the needs of each asset and location.

Property management should contribute to portfolio performance

The industry must also move beyond the assumption that the managing agent’s role is primarily administrative: a professional management team should also contribute to the client’s understanding of asset and portfolio performance, being prepared to challenge, advise and recommend action. 

The management team will not make investment decisions on the owner’s behalf but should, provide the information, local knowledge and operational insight needed to support those decisions.

A different model for larger landlords

So, in conclusion, a suitable model should provide:

• One accountable client relationship
• Consistent coordination across specialist teams
• Portfolio-level reporting and regular performance reviews
• Proactive management of rents, voids, costs and maintenance
• Structured compliance and quality controls
• Access to local market insight
• Support for longer-term portfolio priorities

Most importantly, the service should be shaped around the client. No two portfolios have the same combination of properties, locations, ownership structures and investment objectives.

Adam Hills is Client Services Director at LRG Living Markets