Build-to-rent developers are a key force behind the expansion of the thriving London rental market and the overall private rented sector in the UK. However, as these companies grow their portfolios, operational challenges: fragmented billing systems, inefficient tenant management, and complex acquisitions can become roadblocks to scaling and profitability.
What happens if each part of your business, property management, tenant services, and acquisitions, runs on disconnected billing and customer management systems? Can you expect efficiency and sustainable growth, or will fragmented operations slow you down?
In this article, we’ll discuss how MaxBill’s modern CRM and billing solutions help build-to-rent developers streamline operations and scale their business.
Key Takeaways
- In multi-service and multi-tenancy business models, fragmented billing systems create administrative burdens, lead to billing inaccuracies, and reduce operational agility for growth.
- BTR companies often own multiple developments with hundreds or thousands of residents. Handling contract variations without automation can be overwhelming.
- MaxBill provides a single billing engine that covers all aspects of tenant charges, including rent schemes and lease payments, utilities, additional services, and flexible billing structures.
- A fully integrated tenant customer service portal within the build-to-rent properties’ ecosystem gives residents visibility and control over their payments, service subscriptions, and contract details and facilitates communication with property managers.
- To make the tenant experience even more successful, the portal’s built-in AI assistant can explain invoices, provide next-step guidance, and offer personalised financial insights.
- Build to rent operators grow by acquiring portfolios and new BTR assets, merging, or changing jurisdictions, necessitating billing operations to evolve alongside your business.
- If a BTR developer acquires another portfolio, MaxBill ensures an automated onboarding of new residents, automated contract adjustment, and contract flexibility.
- House builders shifting towards another jurisdiction model get automated tax adjustments based on jurisdictional requirements, and cross-border billing capabilities, which helps expand internationally.
- MaxBill ensures automated reconciliation and settlements between BTR operators and all vendors and service providers involved.
Build to rent developers: key challenges explained
The financial statements of the largest build to rent companies in the UK, for example, demonstrate that the BTR sector is doing great (unlike the public sector where indebtedness prevails amid the housing crisis).
However, what we see is that inefficiencies in billing and customer management present challenges that can hinder expansion. These challenges include:
Fragmented billing systems of build to rent operators
Many BTR rental properties offer multiple services (rent, utilities, broadband, concierge, parking, shared gyms, fully furnished rental solutions, pet-friendly spaces), yet each service might have its separate billing system. This fragmentation:
- Creates administrative burdens, requiring manual reconciliation across different systems.
- Leads to billing inaccuracies, causing disputes between landlords, residents, and service providers.
- Reduces operational agility, making it difficult to scale services or introduce new pricing models.
Lack of integration with tenant portals and apps
The majority of BTR operators in London and across the UK leverage tenant portals and mobile apps to create the best digital engagement for residents. They allow managing leases, maintenance requests, and tenant communication.
However, billing information is often siloed, requiring people to manage payments separately. A lack of integration results in:
- poor user experience due to disjointed payment processes.
- limited financial insights for residents regarding real-time expenses and upcoming charges.
- operational inefficiencies for property managers who must manually consolidate financial data.
Managing multi-tenancy contracts at scale
Build-to-rent developers often own multiple developments with hundreds or thousands of residents. Handling contract variations, such as different lease durations, bundled service packages, and rent structures, without automation can be overwhelming.
No comprehensive billing system supporting the scale-up of build to rent companies
What do we mean by that? BTR companies strive to grow portfolios by acquiring new assets, expanding geographically, through mergers or changing jurisdictions like transitioning from a BTR developer to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs), etc.
To support this growth, your existing billing system must be flexible enough to perform well under an existing operating model and, in the meantime, ensure seamless scalability, enabling your billing operations to evolve alongside your business.
How MaxBill addresses build to rent developments’ billing and ops challenges
“MaxBill is more than just a billing solution for Build-to-Rent services. First, it will fix inefficiencies in your operations, and then it will be there to support you as you step into new geos, acquire new BTR assets, or transition to a new jurisdiction—ensuring your business scales smoothly every step of the way” — Rost Bitterlikh, MaxBill VP R&D.
To tackle billing and operational inefficiencies, MaxBill offers a fully integrated, multi-service billing solution (which is part of a tenant billing solution) designed specifically for rental properties management, residential property consultancies, etc. Let’s break it down by key pillars:
Unified billing for all services
Unlike traditional rental models, BTR developments offer a seamless and service-enhanced living experience. Renters feel comfortable getting a simple bill with everything in there and visiting the app with all the needed information.
MaxBill provides a single billing engine that covers all aspects of tenant charges, including rent and lease payments, utilities, additional services, and flexible billing structures (bundled or itemized).
Related:
The ultimate utility bill management software by MaxBill.
Seamless digital integration
Tenant experience is a top priority for the private housing sector. As previously mentioned, this makes build-to-rent developers in the UK invest in digital engagement tools, such as portals and apps, to provide 24/7 support.
It’s a win-win for both. Residents get convenience and property managers – the reduction of operational overhead.
MaxBill offers a fully integrated self-serve portal that enhances the rental experience by giving people visibility and control over their payments, service subscriptions, lease and contract details and allows communication with property managers and service providers.
To make tenant experience even more successful, the portal’s built-in AI assistant can explain invoices, provide next-step guidance, and offer personalized financial insights to deliver great customer service.
Or, if an organisation wants to integrate MaxBill within its ecosystem, MaxBill offers APIs for seamless connection to BTR platforms, property management systems, and apps.
The APIs ensure that build to rent companies can:
- Embed billing functionalities directly into their own apps: Tenants can check invoices, pay bills, and manage subscriptions without leaving the BTR company’s portal.
- Automate data flows: Real-time synchronization ensures financial transactions, lease agreements, and service updates are always accurate.
- Enable cross-system interoperability: MaxBill integrates with third-party platforms such as CRM systems, accounting software, and utility provider databases.
- Launch new functionalities easily: APIs support custom features like bundled billing, split payments for co-living spaces, or dynamic pricing adjustments for additional services.
Scalability and growth enablement
As stated before, most build to rent firms’ expansion goals include portfolio acquisitions, mergers, transitions to new, more ‘favourable’ jurisdictions, and efficient partnerships with utility and service vendors. Let us distil what exactly BTR developments are empowered to do.
Automation and contract management
MaxBill backs up any growth strategy and ensures the multi-tenancy billing integration. If a BTR company acquires another portfolio, MaxBill ensures an automated onboarding of new residents into the billing system. It delivers automated contract adjustments, ensuring lease agreements align with the acquiring company’s financial structures.
Contract flexibility is another essential aspect here. MaxBill supports:
- Variable lease lengths (short-term, long-term, rolling contracts)
- Flexible billing structures per tenant (bundled vs. itemized services)
- Deposit alternatives and rent guarantees
- Easy modifications to agreements (e.g., adding internet services mid-lease).
Enabling transition and multi-jurisdiction operations
For rent developers shifting towards another jurisdiction model, MaxBill provides centralized financial reporting across different legal entities. Companies get automated tax adjustments based on jurisdictional requirements and cross-border billing capabilities, helping build to rent developers expand internationally and meet the requirements of local authorities.
Strengthening partnerships with utility providers and service vendors
BTR companies gain robust customer and partner management capabilities for efficient contract management with third-party service providers (e.g., energy suppliers and broadband companies). Managing numerous providers and service vendors requires automated revenue reconciliation and settlements. MaxBill ensures smooth financial transactions between BTR operators and all vendors involved.
Related:
Top 5 best property management billing software for property management companies in 2025.
Automated Revenue Management System to Maximize Revenue Potential.
Conclusion
MaxBill is a strategic partner that helps fix inefficiencies, streamline operations, and gain capacities for future growth. It empowers BTR building services to optimize financial management, enhance tenant experiences, and deliver on their bold missions.
If you’re looking for a billing solution that evolves with your business, contact us today to see how MaxBill can transform your Build-to-Rent strategy!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ultimate billing solution for build to rent developers?
The ultimate billing solution for this kind of business is a comprehensive SaaS tenant billing that covers rent developers’ activities around portfolio, pipeline, operating platform and strives for growth and expansion. It encompasses a multi-service, multi-brand concept, ensuring superior tenant experience, operational excellence, and scaling.
How to create a superior tenant experience in build to rent companies?
BTR companies in the UK and worldwide can create a superior tenant experience by strong digital engagement and digital inclusion, where AI, self-portals and apps play an essential role.
How to optimise billing and CRM in BTR building services?
By adopting a modern billing and CRM for build-to-rent developers, companies get a comprehensive solution that covers billing and customer management needs in their core activities as well as in their mergers, transition to other jurisdictions, portfolio acquisitions, or geo expansion.
Why can legacy billing and CRM systems be a roadblock to build-to-rent business growth?
Fragmented billing systems and multiple customer bases can be a roadblock to a BTR company’s growth since it might lack automation, flexibility and modularity to back up growth and expansion strategies.
Who should apply the new billing and CRM approach in your BTR development?
Traditionally, after CEO and CFO buy-in, COOs, CTOs and Head of Digital Transformation start the company’s implementation journey of new billing and CRM solutions.
How can MaxBill help built-to-rent developers grow?
MaxBill delivers modern tenant billing and CRM solutions that cover a full spectrum of BTR companies’ needs for revenue management and reconciliation, customer and partner management, and contract management. We back up any growth strategy and ensure compliance and billing service’s evolution as long as the company grows.
