What Rising Rents Mean for Repairs: How Letting Agents Can Protect Tenants and Landlords

Rising Rents, Rising Expectations

Rents across England and Wales have risen significantly in the past decade: analysis from Your Move and Reeds Rains showed average rents up 15.2% between May 2010 and March 2015, compared with 11.6% consumer price inflation over the same period. More recent ONS data continues the theme: in 2024 UK private rents grew at around 8–9% year on year, well ahead of wage growth in many regions.

For letting agents, this creates a double challenge:

• Tenants are under greater financial pressure and more sensitive to service quality.
• Landlords expect agents to earn their management fees by controlling costs and safeguarding long‑term asset value.

Repairs and property condition now sit at the centre of that conversation. When tenants are paying a higher proportion of income on rent, tolerance for slow or poorly managed maintenance declines sharply. At the same time, landlords facing higher borrowing costs and compliance spend are scrutinising every contractor invoice.

Smart, tech‑enabled repairs management is becoming one of the clearest ways for letting agents to demonstrate value to both sides.

The Economics Behind the Rent Surge

Several structural factors explain why rents have outpaced inflation:

• Supply constraints: New housing delivery has lagged demand, especially in growth cities and commuter belts.
• Landlord exits: Tax changes (such as Section 24 mortgage interest relief restrictions) and tighter lending criteria have pushed some landlords to sell, shrinking available stock.
• Regulation and compliance costs: Licensing schemes, fire safety upgrades, EPC improvements and forthcoming Decent Homes requirements all add to operating costs.
• Mortgage and finance pressures: Higher interest rates put pressure on highly geared landlords, many of whom pass part of the cost on through rent increases.

Rising market rents are not pure profit: a growing percentage is absorbed by maintenance, upgrades and compliance. That makes it vital for agents to run repairs as efficiently as possible.

Why Repairs Strategy Now Matters as Much as Rent Setting

When rents climb faster than incomes, three things typically happen:

1. Tenants stay put longer: Moving is expensive; many households tolerate smaller issues rather than relocate. That reduces voids for landlords but raises the importance of long‑term property condition.
2. Affordability risk increases: A boiler breakdown or unresolved damp problem can tip a stretched household into arrears or dispute.
3. Expectations rise: Tenants compare higher rent payments with the speed and quality of response they receive from agents and landlords.

For decision‑makers, this makes a modern repairs strategy non‑negotiable. Agents that continue to rely on manual phone triage and default contractor visits risk:

• Paying call‑out charges for issues that could have been solved remotely.
• Damaging online reviews and local reputation when tenants feel ignored.
• Losing landlords to competitors offering more transparent, data‑driven management.

Smart Repairs vs Traditional Approaches

A growing number of letting agents are replacing ad‑hoc maintenance workflows with digital triage platforms like Help me Fix, built specifically for lettings and property management.

These platforms combine:

• AI diagnostics (e.g. Aidenn) to assess issues from tenant photos and descriptions.
• Live video triage with remote engineers to diagnose or resolve problems in real time.
• Automated reporting and workflows that integrate with CRMs and property management systems.

Comparison Table: Traditional Repairs vs AI & Video Triage

How Smarter Repairs Protect Tenants Under Rent Pressure

For tenants spending a rising share of income on rent—often 35–40% in high‑pressure markets—service failures are more than an irritation; they are a source of real risk. A leaking ceiling, intermittent heating or recurring mould can make a home uninhabitable long before any formal enforcement action.

Digital‑first repairs help in three ways:

1. Faster triage and resolution
   AI assistants such as Aidenn can:

   • Guide tenants through safe self‑checks (e.g. repressurising a boiler, checking trip switches).
   • Distinguish between a genuine emergency and an issue that can wait until normal hours.
   • Route unresolved cases directly to a video session with a remote engineer.

   That means many problems are resolved the same day, without waiting for contractor availability.

2. Clear communication and transparency
   When tenants can upload photos, see status updates, and receive written confirmation of next steps, they feel heard—even if a contractor cannot attend immediately. This is crucial for maintaining trust when rents are high.

3. Reduced disruption
   Remote triage often resolves or stabilises issues in a single interaction, avoiding repeated half‑days off work to grant access for multiple visits. That is particularly important for households with insecure employment or childcare commitments.

Ettan Bazil, Founder & CEO of Help me Fix, notes:

Letting agents are under pressure to justify rent levels and management fees. Fast, transparent repairs are one of the most visible ways to do that. When you can show issues were triaged within minutes and resolved intelligently, tenants and landlords see the value.

Why Landlords Expect More From Their Agents

In a world of rising rents and tightening regulation, professional landlords are looking for agents who can:

• Control total cost of ownership, not just secure a high headline rent.
• Keep tenants for longer by providing a better experience.
• De‑risk compliance as new standards (Decent Homes, EPC targets, local licensing) come into force.

Smart repairs management contributes directly to each:

• Fewer pointless call‑outs and repeat visits reduce annual maintenance spend.
• Happier tenants mean fewer voids and less churn, protecting yields in a high‑rent, high‑cost environment.
• Structured digital records—photos, time‑stamps, engineer notes—create a robust audit trail if standards are ever challenged.

Visual: Annual Repairs Cost vs Approach (Illustrative)

At portfolio scale—even with conservative assumptions—the savings are material. A 200‑property managed book could easily see £60,000–£80,000 annual maintenance savings while improving tenant experience.

Using Repairs Data as a Strategic Asset

One of the less discussed benefits of digital‑first repairs is the data it generates. For forward‑thinking letting agents, this becomes a strategic asset:

• Property‑level condition profiles: Identify which homes generate the most maintenance tickets; inform rent review or disposal discussions with landlords.
• Contractor performance metrics: Compare first‑time‑fix rates, response times and cost per job across suppliers.
• Early warning on problem assets: Recurring issues (e.g. leaks in a block, electrical faults in a particular conversion) can point to systemic problems that need planned works, not repeated reactive spend.

This kind of insight helps agents have more authoritative conversations with landlords about investment decisions: whether to refurbish, upgrade heating systems, or adjust rent expectations in line with condition.

Practical Steps for Letting Agents

1. Map your current repairs journey

• How do tenants currently report issues?
• How quickly are they acknowledged?
• What percentage of tickets trigger an automatic contractor visit?
• How many result in repeat visits or disputes over responsibility?

Understanding the baseline makes it easier to quantify the benefit of change.

2. Introduce structured digital triage

Adopt a platform like Help me Fix for Lettings that provides:

• Web or link‑based reporting for tenants.
• AI prompts to collect the right evidence first time (photos, short videos, key questions).
• Decision trees that route issues to self‑help, video triage or urgent attendance as appropriate.

3. Use video triage to protect out‑of‑hours budgets

Out‑of‑hours call‑outs are disproportionately expensive. Case studies from Help me Fix clients show:

• Up to 75% of reported emergencies can be safely downgraded after video triage.
• Many issues (for example, loss of one circuit but not all power) can be made safe remotely until normal working hours.

This reduces landlord bills and helps agents maintain 24/7 coverage without burning through margins.

4. Build repairs into your value proposition

Make smarter repairs part of your pitch deck and landlord conversations:

• Show before‑and‑after metrics: average response time, cost per ticket, tenant satisfaction scores.
• Explain how AI and video triage mean fewer unnecessary visits, better documentation, and greater control.
• Highlight the ESG angle: fewer van trips, lower emissions, improved building performance.

Suggested Charts & Infographics

To communicate this internally or to landlords, consider adding:

• Line chart showing rent growth vs inflation over the last 10–15 years, contrasted with a flat (or falling) cost‑per‑repair line where tech triage is used.
• Pie chart breaking down repair outcomes: percentage fixed via self‑help, video triage, and on‑site attendance.
• Timeline of a typical issue:
  1. Tenant reports via link.
  2. AI triage in minutes.
  3. Video triage same day where needed.
  4. Single, well‑prepared contractor visit only if essential.

External Resources for Market Context

• ONS – Private rental prices and inflation
• Propertymark – Lettings market insight
• Aidenn – AI Repairs Assistant
• Engineer Video Triage

Conclusion: Turning Rent Pressure into a Competitive Advantage

Rents may be rising faster than inflation and wages, but that does not have to translate into a more fragile lettings business. Agents that invest in smart, digital‑first repairs workflows can:

• Reduce operating costs and protect landlord margins.
• Offer a materially better experience to tenants under financial pressure.
• Strengthen compliance and reporting as new standards come into force.
• Differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace where online reviews and word of mouth matter more than ever.

In an era where every pound of rent is scrutinised, being able to show that you resolve issues faster, with fewer wasted visits and clearer communication, is a powerful differentiator. Platforms like Help me Fix turn repairs from a cost centre into a proof point of professionalism—and a quiet but decisive reason why the best landlords and tenants choose to stay.