Leading Through Noise: What Dr. Neil Cobbold Thinks About AI, Letting Agents & the Future of Property Management

The UK lettings industry is evolving fast. New regulations, rising expectations from tenants and landlords, and growing pressure on operational efficiency are changing the game. For letting agents, property managers, BTR operators, PBSA providers, and institutional landlords, the need to modernise processes and embrace integrated PropTech is no longer optional, it’s essential.

In the latest episode of The Viking Chats, our co-founder Kristjan Byfield sits down with Dr. Neil Cobbold – Managing Director at Reapit, former PayProp powerhouse, experienced landlord and one of the most trusted voices in UK PropTech.

Their wide-ranging conversation explores critical themes in modern lettings: agentic AI, mental health in leadership, and what scalable, sustainable success in property management actually looks like.

From CRMs to Culture: How Tech Must Evolve for Property Management

Neil shares first-hand insights from leading CRM and payment platforms, shedding light on a persistent issue: too many PropTech tools are still built for siloed, admin-heavy processes. For letting agencies and large-scale property operators, this leads to inefficiency, duplicated effort, and higher operational risk.

His key message? Technology must enable people, not replace them.

Understanding Agentic AI in Lettings

One of the episode’s most insightful takeaways is Neil’s breakdown of agentic AI: technology that doesn’t just interpret data, but acts on it independently and intelligently. In property management, this could mean:

  • Automatically generating compliance tasks from tenancy data

  • Pre-emptive communication with tenants on renewals or maintenance

  • Predicting check-out deductions before end of tenancy

For BTR, PBSA, and institutional landlords, this is game-changing. Automated systems like The Depositary are already unlocking efficiencies at the end-of-tenancy stage, improving turnaround times, tenant experience, and scalability.

Mental Health, Identity & Leadership in Lettings

Beyond tech, Neil dives into a powerful reflection on mental health, burnout, and leadership identity in the property sector. His honesty will resonate with lettings leaders, directors, and founders balancing performance with team wellbeing.

In an industry that often rewards grind over growth, his message is clear: great leadership starts with humanity.

Why This Matters to Letting Agents & Institutional Operators

  • Letting Agents & Property Managers: Integrated PropTech and agentic AI reduce admin, improve compliance, and free teams to focus on service.

  • Build to Rent (BTR) & PBSA Operators: Automation and intelligent systems are critical to delivering consistent, scalable tenant experiences.

  • Institutional Landlords: Operational ROI now depends on selecting the right platforms and agency partners who embrace open data and collaboration.

Your Next Step

Ask your tech suppliers and agency partners tough questions. Are they building toward intelligent integration? Are they ready to scale with your portfolio?

At The Depositary, we're committed to working with progressive property operators and platforms to simplify and automate the complexity of lettings, from move-in to move-out.

Listen to the full conversation with Neil Cobbold on The Viking Chats, now streaming on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3qYImM0cx92qvI7mqyrEMQ?si=abb277debc504b26

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The Viking Chats: Driving Change in Lettings with Dr. Neil Cobbold (aka Mr PayProp)