Property managers told: 2026 tactics won’t be enough in 2027
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Property managers told: 2026 tactics won’t be enough in 2027. That’s the message from WeconnectU, which is hosting an online event on 12 November 2026 called “The Trends That Shaped 2026 and What to Watch in 2027”. The company’s survey data shows one in five tenants currently in arrears, with 23 percent of respondents naming compliance as a barrier to growth. WeconnectU also reports that 21 percent of rental business is reportedly being lost to investors who choose to self-manage their properties. In community schemes, levy debt has reached the equivalent of four months in some of the data examined, adding to operational strain and pressure on municipal services. WeconnectU argues the industry must shift from administration to asset management, urging community and rental managers alike to focus on governance, finances and long-term asset value. The event brings together the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority, the Community Schemes Ombud Service, the National Association of Managing Agents, and industry figures including Seeff and iGrow Rentals. Read the full story by Neale Petersen on rei.co.za.
- WeconnectU’s online event on 12 November 2026 argues that strategies which worked in 2026 won’t be enough for property managers in 2027.
- Survey data cited by WeconnectU shows one in five tenants in arrears and 23% of respondents naming compliance as a growth barrier.
- WeconnectU reports that 21% of rental business is reportedly lost to investors who choose to self-manage, pushing agencies toward asset management.
WeconnectU is hosting an online event on 12 November 2026 called “The Trends That Shaped 2026 and What to Watch in 2027”, bringing together property management leaders, regulators and industry experts to discuss what the sector needs to change before the new year.
WeconnectU says the event is built around data drawn from industry and product surveys, portfolio data and insights from across its property management ecosystem. The company frames the session as a chance to understand what that data shows, hear from people operating at the front line of the industry, and take practical insights back into day-to-day business decisions.
Levy debt and operational strain in community schemes
In Community Asset Management, WeconnectU points to growing levy debt, rising operational complexity and increasing pressure on municipal services as factors reshaping how community schemes are run. The company says levy debt has reached the equivalent of four months in some of the data it has examined.
WeconnectU uses this to question whether the traditional managing agent business model remains sustainable as demands on agents keep growing. It frames the levy debt figure, together with the operational and municipal pressures, as a signal of the financial health of community schemes rather than an isolated data point.
Arrears, compliance and investors who self-manage
WeconnectU’s figures for Rental Asset Management point to similar strain. The company reports that one in five tenants are currently in arrears. It also says 23% of surveyed respondents identify compliance as a barrier to growth, and that 21% of business is reportedly being lost to investors who choose to self-manage their own rental properties.
WeconnectU uses these numbers to ask whether rental agencies are doing enough to demonstrate their value to investors, and whether artificial intelligence and a sharper focus on asset management could open up further growth for agencies willing to adapt.
From administration to asset management
The event’s central argument, according to WeconnectU, is that the industry needs to shift from administration towards asset management.
WeconnectU says community managers need to redirect their attention away from day-to-day operational demands and towards governance, sound finances and the long-term value of the asset, while rental managers are being urged to move past rent collection and tenant administration and instead become strategic partners who protect and grow an investor’s asset.
WeconnectU describes this shift as requiring more than new technology. It says the change needs shared knowledge, meaningful conversations between industry players, and a collective commitment to raising standards across the sector.
Who is in the room
Alongside WeconnectU’s own leadership and product managers, the event brings in the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA), the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) and the National Association of Managing Agents (NAMA), together with industry figures from Seeff, iGrow Rentals, Propertyzz, ZDFin and Urbtec.
One highlight, according to WeconnectU, is a session called “Asking the Hard Questions”, led by WeconnectU CEO Johann van der Merwe, which brings together regulatory and industry perspectives on the most pressing issues facing property managers.
FNB’s digital forensic team is also taking part, addressing cybercrime as a growing business risk for property management operations. WeconnectU says it will use the event to preview plans for ENGAGE In-Person 2027, where these discussions continue in person across South Africa.
What this means for property investors
For investors who rely on body corporates and rental agents to manage their assets, the figures WeconnectU has published are worth watching closely, even though they come from the company’s own surveys and portfolio data rather than an independent industry census.
Levy debt running at the equivalent of four months in parts of the data WeconnectU examined points to cash-flow pressure that can delay maintenance, insurance renewals and reserve fund contributions in sectional-title schemes. Investors in community schemes should ask their trustees and managing agents how current arrears levels compare with that benchmark, and what collection and governance steps are in place.
On the rental side, one in five tenants in arrears and 21% of business reportedly moving to self-management are both signals that landlords are reassessing what they get for a management fee. For investors still weighing up self-management versus using an agency, WeconnectU’s own framing suggests the value case now needs to be made in asset management terms, not just rent collection and tenant placement.
The REI take: don’t carry 2026 habits into 2027
WeconnectU’s event is a company-run platform for its own survey data, and the figures it cites describe its own ecosystem rather than the whole South African property management sector. That context matters when reading numbers like the one-in-five arrears rate or the 21% self-management figure.
Even so, the underlying pressures it describes, levy debt, compliance costs, arrears and investors questioning what they pay for, are consistent with what trustees, managing agents and rental principals have been reporting through 2026. The presence of the PPRA, CSOS and NAMA at the same event suggests the regulatory and industry view of these pressures is not far apart.
Property managers who treat 2027 as a repeat of 2026 risk being caught out by arrears, compliance costs and investors who are increasingly willing to manage their own assets; the businesses that shift from administration to asset management now are the ones most likely to keep that business.
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