As the Renters’ Rights Bill nears Royal Assent, leading technology provider Reapit urges letting agents to act early on arrears to grow their agency, protect their income and landlords, while attracting new ones.

Data from Reapit’s automated rental payment platform, PayProp, shows that the top 10% of agencies with the lowest arrears using the platform in September 2025 had fewer than 1.4 tenants in arrears per agency, with tenants owing on average £513. This figure represents less than 39% of average monthly UK rents according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.

That same group of agents grew their lettings management commission income by over 13% in 12 months, showing a clear correlation between good arrears management and rental commission income growth.

Rules change makes arrears management critical

With the Renters’ Rights Bill set to return to the House of Lords on 14 October for final consideration, letting agents are being urged to focus on arrears management in light of these reforms.

The legislation will extend the eviction threshold in England for tenant arrears to three months before an eviction notice can be issued. Current court delays mean landlords already wait on average 27.9 weeks to repossess a property from the point an eviction notice is served. With accelerated possession being removed by the Renters’ Rights Bill, these delays are likely to increase.

“With the Renters’ Rights Bill set to extend eviction timelines, agents who don’t act immediately on arrears could find themselves stuck, struggling to collect late rent, incapable of evicting, and unable to give landlords the assurance that they’ll be able to take legal possession of their properties within a reasonable time of tenants defaulting. That’s why automation and early intervention are essential strategies with managing arrears for any agency that wants to protect their income and grow their landlord portfolio,” explained Dr Neil Cobbold, Commercial Director at Reapit.

 

The right tools for the job

Proactive arrears management tools are built into PayProp, allowing agents to act the moment arrears are auto-flagged. As the platform is bank-integrated, it knows the live payment status of every tenant, showing agents a clear list of who has paid and who has not, 24/7. Proactive reminders can be approved and sent in bulk with one click or tap – both via e-mail and text message. The timely prompt this gives tenants to pay their rent has resulted in 64% of tenants responding within 48 hours.

“The most successful agents on our platform are those who act early. They’re not just protecting their commission; they’re building a reputation for financial control and professionalism that attracts landlords who are increasingly nervous about arrears and eviction delays. We see that play out in their growth stats, with the agents that manage arrears the best growing their rental commission income over the last 12 months. And those are the agents landlords are looking to protect their rental income,” added Cobbold.