Leading With Values: What Ellie Rees and the ‘Dear Sirs’ Movement Reveal About the Future of Lettings
At The Depositary, we exist to transform how tenancies conclude - making the process easier, faster, and better for agents and tenants alike. But what about the deeper culture that surrounds lettings? How do agency values, team diversity and ethical leadership shape the outcomes we’re all trying to improve?
That’s why our recent conversation with Ellie Rees, co-founder of Brickworks and creator of the viral #DearSirs campaign, struck such a chord. Because it wasn’t just about fixing broken processes - it was about challenging the assumptions behind them.
Culture Is Not Cosmetic - It’s Commercial
Ellie’s agency, Brickworks, was designed from the ground up to look and feel different. Not just visually - though design is central to their brand - but in how they hire, how they treat people, and how they define success.
For many agents, culture is an internal talking point. But for those working in BTR, PBSA or managing large-scale portfolios, culture is operational. It impacts staff retention, resident satisfaction, tribunal outcomes, complaints, and long-term performance.
Ellie put it plainly: when agencies tolerate poor behaviour because someone “brings in the fees,” that cost shows up elsewhere - in burnout, tenant disputes, and client churn. Conversely, when ethics and empathy are built into the business model, teams thrive - and so do tenancies.
The #DearSirs Wake-Up Call
#DearSirs started as a comment on everyday sexism in the property sector. But it quickly became something bigger - a moment of reckoning for an industry that still leans too heavily on outdated norms, both in language and leadership.
The parallels with the lettings world are stark. If we want our industry to be seen as modern, credible and tenant-centric, we must let go of legacy mindsets. That means rethinking how we engage tenants, how we structure comms, and who we hire and promote.
The Depositary View: Efficiency Should Empower Better Values
We’ve long believed that good tech doesn’t replace good people - it supports them. By removing repetitive admin and automating the complex but low-value tasks, we give teams the headspace and structure to show up with empathy, consistency, and care.
That’s why conversations like this matter- because culture is often what fills the space that tech clears.
The best-performing letting businesses of the future will be those that:
Align their operational processes with their stated values
Invest in inclusive hiring, transparent progression, and ethical leadership
Use technology not just to reduce cost, but to raise standards
Diversity at the Core - Not the Periphery
As a company co-founded nearly two decades ago by a woman in a male-dominated industry, we’ve always believed that equality, diversity and inclusion shouldn’t be tokenistic. They should be foundational. And they should extend beyond gender.
Over the years, our team and our partners have consistently reflected the broader society we serve - with the LGBTQIA+ community, women, and underrepresented voices often making up the majority in our business ecosystem.
We didn’t talk about it much in the early days - not because we weren’t proud, but because we assumed it was the norm. Surely everyone understood that diverse teams are better teams?
Turns out, many didn’t. And now, more than ever, we believe these stories need to be shared.
Why This Matters to Our Audience
If you’re a lettings agency scaling your business, a BTR operator designing your resident experience, or a PBSA leader reviewing partnerships - values are no longer “nice to have.” They’re measurable, operational, and deeply linked to outcomes.
How your team behaves. How tenants feel. How landlords perceive your service. All of it stems from the culture you build.
Ellie’s voice is a powerful reminder that property is not neutral. It reflects power, language, and design - and it shapes lives.
At The Depositary, we’ll continue to push for better processes. But we’ll also continue to stand for something bigger: a lettings industry where efficiency supports empathy, where tech supports trust, and where the best businesses do good - and do well.
Because lettings should be more than a transaction.
They should be a reflection of the values we hold - and the future we want to build.
Click here to watch the latest Viking Chat with Ellie Rees on YouTube.
