Spicerhaart has invested £1.7m in new property management technology as the agency looks to strengthen compliance and protect landlords from the risks posed by an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
The five-year investment has resulted in the launch of a bespoke property management platform developed with proptech firm Rex Software.
The Rex Property Management system has now been rolled out across Spicerhaart following two years of design, development and testing.
The technology forms part of a wider overhaul of the agency group’s property management operation. It combines compliance support, centralised administration and automation with locally based property managers.
The launch comes as letting agents and landlords face greater compliance requirements, including changes introduced under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
Spicerhaart has also established a new Compliance and Pre-Tenancy Centre of Excellence. The operation provides compliance expertise and administrative support to the group’s 200-strong property management team.
Rather than adopting an existing platform, Spicerhaart worked with Rex Software to develop a system around its own lettings operation.
The platform draws on the group’s experience of managing hundreds of thousands of tenancy-related situations. These include regulatory, maintenance and customer service issues arising throughout a tenancy.
A central focus is providing property managers with greater oversight of compliance across Spicerhaart’s managed portfolio.
The system tracks certificates, inspections and property condition reports. It also flags approaching renewals and other actions requiring attention.
Spicerhaart said this should allow its property managers to identify potential problems earlier and reduce the risk of compliance requirements being missed.
The investment also reflects the growing role technology and automation are playing in lettings as regulation increases.
For landlords, Spicerhaart said the objective is to provide greater assurance that properties remain compliant as legislation changes. For its property managers, the technology is designed to reduce administration while improving oversight of individual tenancies and the wider portfolio.
Kelly-Anne Flynn, Managing Director of Property Management and Lettings Operations at Spicerhaart, said: “The regulatory landscape has changed significantly and landlords understandably want clarity about what they need to do, when they need to do it and whether their agent is keeping them ahead of those requirements.
“This investment gives our teams a much clearer picture of compliance across every property we manage. It helps us identify what is coming up, what action is needed and where a landlord may need additional support.
“But this isn’t about replacing personal service with technology. It is about using technology to take care of complex processes behind the scenes so our local property managers can spend more time talking to landlords and tenants, resolving problems, overseeing repairs, protecting rental income and looking after properties.
“We believe that combination of specialist central support, intelligent technology and accessible local people is particularly important during a period of significant change.”
Spicerhaart says the transformation has helped it maintain a broadly stable managed portfolio during a period in which uncertainty over regulation, possession rights and market conditions has led some landlords to consider whether to continue renting or sell their properties.
Although the wider lettings market remains constrained, the company says its focus on explaining the changes, building relationships and avoiding unnecessary panic has helped it retain landlords and tenants and generate positive customer feedback.
The new platform replaces a legacy system that was no longer being developed and which would not have provided the scale, automation or flexibility required to support Spicerhaart’s future growth.
Steve Lamb, CIO at Spicerhaart, said: “We needed a property management platform that could scale with the business, improve efficiency and support the increasingly detailed compliance requirements facing landlords and agents.
“We looked at the products already available, but we did not want to shoehorn our operation into a system designed around somebody else’s processes. Working with Rex allowed us to combine its technical expertise with our intellectual property and detailed understanding of UK property management.
“The result is a system designed around the way our teams actually work and the situations they encounter. It gives us a strong foundation on which we can continue to introduce automation and carefully selected AI tools without losing the human service that landlords and tenants value.”
The launch builds on Spicerhaart’s existing relationship with Rex Software, which previously developed ROSIE, Spicerhaart’s bespoke residential operating system for its estate agency network.
Further stages of the property management programme are expected to include an online landlord platform providing greater access to property information and compliance records. Spicerhaart is also exploring how AI-powered tools could help answer routine questions more quickly and make its services accessible to customers who prefer digital communication.
Tom Ainsworth, chief revenue officer for Rex Software, said: “We’re incredibly proud of our partnership with Spicerhaart and the collaborative way we’ve worked together to bring a best-in-class property management system into their day-to-day workflows.
“Two years of co-development have produced a platform built around how property management teams actually operate, driving compliant processes and delivering the efficiency, safety and confidence landlords and property managers need. As we look to the future, we’re excited to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible together from the effective adoption of AI to a new online landlord platform.”
Antony Lark, Spicerhaart Joint CEO, added: “Property management technology may not always be the most visible part of an estate agency business, but it has a direct impact on whether landlords remain compliant, rent is collected, repairs are completed and tenants receive a responsive service.
“We are operating in uncharted territory, with substantial legislative change and understandable concern among landlords about what the future holds. Our response has been to invest rather than retreat.
“The Centre of Excellence and the Rex platform give us a modern, resilient operating structure that protects landlords, supports our people and allows local teams to concentrate on the relationships that ultimately retain customers.
“Our immediate priority has been stability and trust. This investment also gives us the scalable foundation we need to grow confidently as the market becomes clearer.”
Spicerhaart’s lettings and property management network includes haart, Felicity J Lord, Darlows, Haybrook, Howards and Butters John Bee.
