How Gilbert & Rose let without limits with Goodlord's Section 13 tool

The wrong turn: leaving Goodlord for an all-in-one platform

As they scaled, running multiple systems, Gilbert & Rose were drawn to the promise of a single CRM that could do it all and moved their lettings work off Goodlord to try one.

The gaps showed up fast. "With the other system, the basics you'd take for granted just weren't there," says Sarah King, Head of Lettings and Property Management. "In Goodlord, the tenancy agreement is verified, checked by solicitors and legally binding, and the deposit integration alone is a huge saver because if that goes wrong, it can cost thousands. We realised you're better off with a company that specialises in what it does. That's why we came back to Goodlord."

One platform the whole team runs on

The second time around, Goodlord became the system the entire agency works in, from first enquiry to ongoing management, not just a tool for the lettings desk. That's what lets a team of ten stay on top of nearly 700 tenancies without cracks appearing: everyone works in the same place, so no job depends on one person being at their desk.

"Goodlord gives everyone more time in their role," says Sarah. "Our negotiators can move straight on to the next tenancy, our progressor can handle multiple move-ins at once, and our property managers save hours on Section 13s and utility switching."

Section 13 rent reviews under the Renters' Rights Act

The Renters' Rights Act made Section 13 the route to increasing rents — and for an agency serving hundreds of landlords, doing so compliantly and at volume is a significant undertaking. It's the workflow the team came to rely on fastest. "We love Goodlord's Section 13 tool," says Sarah. "What used to take far longer is now a couple of clicks: sent, done, and fully audited."

Getting a rent increase wrong can invalidate it, so the tool is built to prevent errors, not just record them: it won't let an agent serve an increase before the 12-month window is up, and flags the detail before anything goes out. "That gives us real confidence," says Sarah. And when a tenant challenges a figure, a revised proposal workflow keeps both sides out of a tribunal.

The impact is clearest in the numbers. A rent review that once took up to 40 minutes now takes five to ten. "One day we did 36 Section 13s in a single day," says Sarah, "and that simply wouldn't have been possible without Goodlord."

Letting without limits

Multiplied across tenant referencing, compliance, rent reviews, and every tenancy the team touches, that time-saving compounds. The business can keep growing without its admin growing at the same rate. As Sarah puts it, the hours Goodlord saves each week add up to a whole extra team member: capacity the agency now spends on landlords and tenants instead of paperwork.

And it shows where it counts. "Goodlord allows us to let without limits, thanks to the time-saving elements within the platform," says Sarah. "We've recently hit the highest number of lets we've ever done in one month, and I don't think we could have done it without Goodlord."