The Director's Cut - Your managing agent says its technology is brilliant. Have you actually seen it?

Then somebody asks about technology.

The answer is often reassuringly vague. The agent has “industry-leading systems”, a “best-in-class portal” and “fully integrated software”. Everyone nods, the presentation moves on, and nobody asks to see any of it working.

That is a mistake.

An RMC or RTM is not simply appointing a team of people. It is placing its service charge money, accounting records, compliance information, resident communications and much of its operational resilience inside the managing agent’s technology ecosystem.

Directors therefore need to understand not just which systems an agent uses, but how they work together and what they will deliver for their building.

Much of the technology investment being made by managing agents is inward-facing. It helps teams work more efficiently, automate repetitive tasks, control workflows, monitor compliance and manage ever-increasing quantities of information.

That may not sound as exciting as a shiny resident app, but it is arguably more important.

A slick portal is of little comfort if the agent cannot produce reliable service charge accounts, retrieve the latest fire-door inspection or identify which statutory actions are overdue. The technology behind the scenes determines whether the property manager is properly supported or left managing a complex building through spreadsheets, inboxes and memory.

AI is increasingly becoming part of that hidden machinery. Its most useful role may not be a chatbot answering residents’ questions, but software reading invoices, extracting information from leases and building safety documents, categorising correspondence and highlighting items requiring human attention.

Directors should still ask what has been automated, how the output is checked and who is accountable when the technology gets something wrong. Artificial intelligence does not remove the need for intelligent supervision.

At the centre of almost every agent’s technology stack is its property accounting software. Directors are entrusting the agent to demand, collect, hold, spend and account for substantial sums of service charge money.

They need confidence that the software can communicate properly with the building’s bank accounts, reconcile receipts and expenditure, manage arrears, control purchase orders and produce reports they can understand.

The name of the software matters less than how it has been configured, how consistently staff use it and what visibility the client receives. Bad information does not become good information simply because it appears on an impressive dashboard.

The strongest technology stacks connect specialist systems rather than forcing staff to repeatedly download, re-enter and reconcile the same information.

The collaboration between Signature Energy and MRI Qube is a good example. Energy management information and validated invoices can flow into the agent’s core property management system, reducing manual handling, duplication and error. The agent benefits from a more efficient process, while the client gains better oversight.

The same principle applies to building safety. Dwellant may act as the engine room for communications, document distribution, task management and resident engagement, while a specialist building safety platform provides the structured backbone for inspections, actions, safety case information and the golden thread.

Directors should not expect one system to do everything. They should, however, ask whether systems connect properly, whether information is duplicated and who remains responsible when one platform says an action is complete and another says it is outstanding.

Then there is the technology residents actually see.

Portals and apps can allow residents to report repairs, check service charge balances, make payments, retrieve documents, receive building safety information and keep up with community events. Used well, they reduce email traffic and stop important information becoming buried in long chains of correspondence.

They can also help create a sense of identity, supporting residents’ groups, events and consultations and making the building feel more like a community.

But directors should resist being dazzled by appearance alone. A beautifully branded app is not much use if repair reports disappear into a black hole or documents are six months out of date. Nor should digital convenience become digital exclusion. Some residents will still need to speak to somebody or receive information another way.

Good proptech should widen access, not become an excuse to withdraw human service.

The humble noticeboard is also due an upgrade. Paper notices curl at the edges, remain in place long after they are relevant and require somebody to visit the building each time they need changing. Digital screens in common parts are easier to update and increasingly unobtrusive.

A managing agent, director or member of site staff can change a message remotely. Lift maintenance, fire alarm testing, parcel arrangements, community events and emergency information can all be kept current without reaching for a drawing pin.

And where might that lead?

In the 2002 film Minority Report, Tom Cruise walks through a futuristic shopping mall where billboards identify him and serve personalised advertisements. For a block of flats, the future may be less dramatic but more useful.

A screen could detect that a resident’s phone is passing and display a short message: your parcel is waiting; the lighting fault you reported has been resolved; tomorrow’s water draindown affects your floor.

That may sound clever. It may also sound slightly alarming.

The line between personalisation and surveillance is thin. Directors will need to ask what data is being collected, whether residents have consented, how securely it is held and whether the technology is solving a genuine management problem.

The biggest proptech change in blocks of flats may still be ahead of us: the Internet of Things.

Sensors can already detect water leaks, pressure changes, unusual heat, failed lighting, doors that have not closed properly and plant operating outside normal parameters.

The real opportunity is not the “smart building” as a collection of expensive gadgets. It is the self-reporting building: one that identifies deterioration early and sends the right information to the right person before inconvenience becomes damage.

A central system may be able to reset equipment automatically. In other cases, it may diagnose the likely cause, raise a contractor instruction and provide supporting data before a resident even knows there is a problem.

That is ultimate proactive management: moving from waiting for a complaint to predicting and preventing failure.

New developments have the greatest opportunity because sensors, connectivity and data infrastructure can be designed in from the outset. Retrofitting existing blocks may be more expensive, although the cost should be compared with repeated leaks, plant failures, emergency call-outs and avoidable insurance claims.

For directors selecting a managing agent, the practical message is simple: do not merely ask for a list of software logos. Ask for two demonstrations.

First, ask the agent to show how its team works behind the scenes. How is a repair logged and monitored? How are compliance actions escalated? Can the property manager find the latest inspection report immediately? What financial information can directors see?

Second, ask to see the residents’ or directors’ experience. Report a fictional leak. Find an important document. Check a balance. Send a targeted building safety message. See whether the journey is as straightforward as the sales presentation suggests.

Then ask the less glamorous questions. Who owns the data? Can it be exported in a usable format if the agent changes? What happens during a cyber incident or prolonged outage? What happens if an integration fails?

RMC and RTM directors do not need to become software experts. They do need to become informed buyers.

The next time a managing agent tells you its technology is brilliant, do not simply take its word for it.

Ask them to show you.

Jonathan Channing is Director at JC Property Consultancy