How Duncan Yeardley handles rent increases at scale with Section 13 and Goodlord

We spoke to Hannah Stinga, Director of Lettings, who has spent 25 years in the industry, including the last five with Duncan Yeardley, to understand how Goodlord helps the agency handle rent increases and stay compliant in a fast-changing market.

The problem: rent increases in a new legislative era

The Renters' Rights Act changed the rules on rent increases. With traditional renewals falling away, Section 13 has become the only legal route for raising rents — and for a busy agency reviewing rents across a large managed portfolio, getting every notice right, on time, and at volume is no small task.

For Duncan Yeardley, it wasn't only a Section 13 challenge — it was a wider question of staying compliant as the business grew. When Hannah joined, responsibility for compliance sat with a single member of staff. "Before Goodlord, our whole compliance process rested on one person," she explains. "Goodlord took that responsibility off a single pair of shoulders — now we're all part of that journey of compliance together."

When the biggest legislative shift in years was approaching, the agency needed a system it could trust to handle rent increases properly.

The solution: Section 13, done right, every time

Duncan Yeardley now issues every rent increase through Goodlord — turning what used to be a renewals process into a streamlined rent-review workflow.

"We've simply turned our old renewal process into rent reviews," Hannah says. "Now the legal notice is served correctly, with proof the tenant's been informed — and Goodlord makes that possible."

That matters because Section 13 leaves little room for error: the timelines are strict, and a mistake can result in an invalid notice. By tracking the dates and keeping a clear audit trail, Goodlord gives the team the confidence to serve notices at volume, knowing each one stands up. It also means rent reviews become part of the service the agency offers — protecting landlords' income and investments, rather than a box-ticking task.

Preparation was everything when the Act arrived. "I've been in the industry for 25 years, and the Renters' Rights Act was a major thing for us all to get through," Hannah recalls. "As soon as the Renters' Rights Act arrived, we'd organised all our paperwork and were compliant from day one. I don't think we'd have gotten through it without Goodlord and the team around us."

One connected platform behind every rent review

Section 13 doesn't sit in isolation — it's part of a single platform the whole agency runs on. "Goodlord has really helped us streamline the business," Hannah says. "We used to have lots of people doing bits and bobs of the job. Now it's one system, from start to finish for the whole customer journey."

It's a platform every team relies on, not just lettings. "It's one system used for so many things — property management, accounts, front-of-house and back-office all use it," Hannah adds. "It's rare to find a product that thinks about every part of the business like that." From referencing and tenancy setup through to rent reviews and Rent Protection, everything lives in one place — which is exactly what makes serving Section 13 notices at scale so straightforward.

Why Duncan Yeardley recommends Goodlord

"There's nothing else out there that offers what Goodlord does — the compliance, the products, the support all in one place," Hannah says. "Goodlord gives us everything from start to finish. One system, one partner, and complete peace of mind that we're compliant."