Written by
Emma Collins
Published on
Jan 10, 2026
If you ask ten letting agents what software they use to manage properties, you’ll rarely get the same answer twice. That’s because most agencies don’t rely on a single system — they use a stack of tools, each covering a different part of the job.
This article breaks down what letting agents in the UK actually use day to day, why those setups exist, and where things usually start to creak as portfolios grow.
There’s no single piece of software that does everything
Despite what some vendors claim, most letting agents don’t run their business on one platform alone. Property management involves sales, lettings, maintenance, compliance, accounting, and communication — and no single tool handles all of that perfectly.
Instead, agencies build a stack over time, adding tools as new problems appear.
The core system most letting agents start with
Nearly every agency has a central system that acts as its source of truth.
Common examples include:
Reapit
Arthur Online
Alto
These platforms are typically used to manage:
Property, unit, and tenant records
Tenancies and renewals
Basic compliance tracking
Reporting and integrations with accounting software
They’re essential systems — but they’re rarely where most of the daily operational work happens.
How letting agents actually handle maintenance day to day
Maintenance is where things become fragmented.
In many agencies:
Tenants report issues via email, phone calls, or WhatsApp
Staff manually log issues into a system (if they log them at all)
Contractors are contacted individually and chased for updates
Status updates live in inboxes rather than in a clear system
To bring some structure to this, agents often use:
Fixflo
Arthur Online’s maintenance module
Shared inboxes and WhatsApp Business
Even then, a lot of the coordination still happens manually.
The “unofficial” software stack most agents rely on
For most letting agents, the real software stack looks something like this:
A core PMS (Reapit, Arthur, or Alto)
Email (Outlook or Gmail)
WhatsApp Business
Spreadsheets
Phone calls
This setup works because it’s flexible and familiar. The downside is that information gets scattered quickly, and visibility suffers as the portfolio grows.
Where the cracks start to show
As agencies scale, the limitations of this approach become more obvious:
No single view of all maintenance issues
Difficult to onboard new staff consistently
Inconsistent tenant experience
Limited audit trails for landlords
Staff time spent chasing updates rather than managing exceptions
At this point, adding more people often feels easier than fixing the system — but it’s also more expensive.
How some letting agents are simplifying their setup
More forward-thinking agencies are starting to:
Centralise maintenance intake
Automatically structure tenant requests
Reduce inbox monitoring
Use software to manage workflows rather than just store data
The focus shifts from “logging everything” to only intervening when needed.
What to consider before changing or adding software
Before ripping out your existing tools, it’s worth stepping back:
Your core PMS is probably still doing its job
The biggest pain point is usually maintenance, not records
Adoption matters more than feature depth
Tools should work alongside what you already use
Solving one problem well often delivers more value than replacing everything.
Where Lanten fits
Most letting agents already use tools like Reapit, Arthur, or Alto — and that’s not a problem.
Lanten is designed to sit alongside those systems and focus on the part of the job that consumes the most time: maintenance.
Lanten:
Handles tenant maintenance requests via WhatsApp and email
Uses AI to structure and triage issues automatically
Creates clear maintenance records without manual logging
Coordinates contractors with less chasing and back-and-forth
If maintenance is the area that feels hardest to control, Lanten is built to help.
