The institutional owner's guide to high-performance rental operations in 2025

Executive summary

The rules of residential real estate have changed. Margins are tight. Debt is expensive. Investor scrutiny is intense. In this market, strong operations aren't just a back-office requirement—they're a competitive advantage. This white paper outlines how institutional owners and asset managers can build high-performance operations to defend and grow Net Operating Income (NOI), attract capital, and enhance portfolio visibility in 2025.

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What Residently is and isn’t

Residently is not a Property Management System (PMS). We are the experience layer — the front-end user experience and workflows your operating teams and residents engage with - that sits on top of your existing accounting and reporting stack. 


Our rental operating system powers automation, efficiency, and consistency across your portfolio—from marketing to renewals, providing unparalleled insights into operational performance.

We’re not here to replace PMS systems. Our pitch is: use Residently + whatever PMS/accountancy software to get the best of both worlds.

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1. The macro landscape in 2025

Real estate performance is under pressure:

• Interest rates have more than doubled in the past 18 months
• Yield compression is eroding asset-level returns
• Operating expenses are rising while rent growth slows
• Investor expectations are shifting from growth to governance

In this environment, NOI is no longer a metric—it's the mandate. Owners and operators who can demonstrate control over costs, occupancy, and resident experience will outperform. Those who can't will struggle to raise capital, refinance, or scale.

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2. What high-performance operations look like

High-performance operations aren't just efficient—they're intelligent, transparent, and consistent.

Key traits:

• Automation: Streamlining repetitive tasks saves hours per tenancy
• Workflow standardisation: Reduces errors and improves speed-to-income
• Real-time data: Provides asset managers with live KPIs
• Seamless collaboration: Internal and external teams stay aligned
• Resident-first experiences: From application to renewal, every interaction is smooth and professional

Strong operations increase NOI and build enterprise value. At a 4–5% cap rate, every £1 of additional NOI adds £20–£25 in asset value.

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3. Your PMS isn't the problem, but it's not enough

Property Management Systems (PMS) are excellent financial and reporting tools, but they weren't built to power fast, resident-facing workflows or data-driven operational strategies.

Common PMS limitations:

• Clunky leasing workflows
• Poor resident UX
• Manual data entry across departments
• Lack of real-time operational insights

This creates friction across your portfolio and limits your ability to move quickly or scale.

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4. Introducing Residently: The experience layer for institutional residential rentals

Residently is the rental operating system that connects your teams, systems and residents.

We sit above your PMS and accounting software to deliver:

• End-to-end workflow automation
• A mobile-first resident experience
• In-house and third-party team coordination
• Structured, real-time operational data

What we are:

• PMS agnostic
• Fast to implement
• Scalable across geographies
• Built for large-scale residential portfolios

What we are not:

• A PMS replacement
• A single-point solution
• A limited-use leasing app

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5. Built to flex with your strategy

Whether you're stabilising long-term holdings or repositioning for sale, Residently adapts to your goals.

For long-term holders:

• Reduce staff burden and turnover costs
• Improve resident retention
• Create a consistent operating model across sites

For value-add investors:

• Speed up lease-up and stabilisation
• Align digital tools with short hold periods
• Showcase operations in exits and valuations

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6. The competitive edge: how operations win capital and mandates

Capital allocators fund execution, not ambition.

With Residently, you can:

• Provide audit-ready performance data
• Offer live portfolio dashboards instead of static reports
• Demonstrate structured, scalable operations to LPs and partners

Operators using Residently win more mandates by:

• Delivering measurable savings (7+ admin hours per tenancy)
• Reducing voids (up to 30%)
• Enhancing the resident experience

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7. Take action: build your high-performance operation

You don't need to rip out your tech stack. You need to modernise how it works.

Residently plugs into your existing PMS and accounting tools to:

• Add a layer of automation
• Create consistent workflows
• Improve visibility and performance

If your PMS is the ledger, Residently is the engine.

Get in touch to see a live portfolio demo or implementation plan. Or, ifyou’re using third-party operators to manage your portfolios, please do send them our way.

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