5 Ways For Multifamily Landlords To Boost NOI

Post-Covid, the UK saw extraordinary rental growth in multifamily. Annual growth reached 12% in some areas, JLL Head of Residential for Property Management John Coddington said.

But even though the industry always knew this would normalise, not all landlords were prepared for how rental growth has plateaued in 2026, he said.

JLL’s cities index showed rents across the big six cities outside London rose just 1.7% over the last 12 months, with London rents up 2.0%, according to Homelet, both below inflation increases.

This trend puts pressure on net operating income, particularly when added to higher building management costs due to the growing cost of labour, rising insurance and increasing focus on building safety.

“There’s a general feeling that margins are getting squeezed,” Coddington said. “The pressure is on asset managers to operate a building as efficiently as possible and continually achieve positive NOI increases.”

The good news is overall occupancy rates remain high, he said. JLL manages more than 2,000 multifamily homes across nine assets in the UK and Ireland, and occupancy sits at more than 93%.

What the industry needs are tangible ways to translate this high occupancy into the strongest bottom line. Fortunately, a property owner can take steps to boost NOI.

“In the next five years, technology will transform operational efficiencies,” Coddington said. “Already, we’ve seen how management systems can provide a strong backbone for a business, but some really exciting products are coming that can be used with this.”

He gave the example of Lette AI, which among other uses streamlines the leasing process by automatically ranking potential applicants. Doing so potentially means an operator requires fewer team members on-site for their lead-to-lease process, he said.

Coddington described another tool called Livly as “game changing.” Currently available in the U.S., its features could benefit compliance with the Renters’ Rights Bill by predicting the likelihood of a tenant staying in a building, he said.

“These tools aren’t about removing someone’s role but about freeing up their time,” he said. “They could carry out tasks that a business currently outsources or allow teams to focus on activities that improve the customer experience.”

In another effort to boost NOI, larger landlords are increasingly following the trend set by large multinational organisations to move their central business functions offshore, Coddington said. JLL has done so with its own team based in India.

“We established the financial and operational aspects of management offshore in India for some clients, such as accounts receivables and service charge management,” he said. “This approach has proven beneficial by providing access to India’s extensive pool of qualified finance professionals who are well versed in international accounting standards, while delivering strong operational value and cost-efficiency.”

To make sure such a relationship works, landlords should implement a unified financial system that provides a single source of truth and is accessible to both onshore and offshore teams. It’s also important to have consistent virtual engagement.

A landlord shouldn’t just inspire staff to create a great living environment, Coddington said — they need to encourage teams to ask why they’re doing so.

“Does every single person who works in your company know they can have a tangible impact on improving the NOI of a building?” he said. “It’s about creating a culture where people know their goal and the impact their actions have.”

A company can reinforce this culture through annual targets and rewards, Coddington said. During regular meetings, people can be recognised for positive customer reviews and the team can celebrate wins together, so people understand their impact.

This becomes even more important as use of technology increases, he said. If teams are smaller, it is even more essential to have the right culture.

It’s not only larger landlords who can make the most of buying power, Coddington said. Smaller landlords can use an outsourced operator with a big portfolio to reduce their supply chain down to fewer contractors on better long-term contracts.

Employing on-site teams for services such as cleaning and maintenance delivers faster response times and greater operational flexibility, he said. However, complex technical work such as lift maintenance requires outsourcing to specialist contractors with the necessary expertise.

"You need to be flexible with your procurement strategy rather than outsourcing all operations," Coddington said. "Sometimes, you might want a more regional supply chain where you can employ people on-site to carry out on-demand and reactive activities."

A landlord needs to focus on improving a building’s sustainability through measures that also improve NOI, Coddington said. When refurbishing a building, there might be an opportunity to add solar panels or install LED lighting, for example.

When designing a new building, technology can be used to better understand occupancy, he said. This data is essential for optimising heating and lighting systems, for example.

“Multifamily investors increasingly want real-time data to understand how a building is performing,” Coddington said. “This has always been a challenge in legacy assets, but tools are available that can record the right data now.”

This article was produced in collaboration between JLL, Bisnow, and Studio B Writer, Felicity Francis.