Property managers are feeling the pressure from every direction: labor costs are climbing, insurance premiums are surging and rent growth isn't keeping pace. For 2026 IREM president-elect Kim Collins, CPM and COO of Bradley Company, staying competitive means thinking creatively about cost control.
Labor is one of the biggest pressure points. Finding and keeping qualified maintenance and operations staff has become increasingly difficult, and those who are available know their leverage and are commanding higher wages and more generous benefits.
Insurance is equally bruising. Carriers are withdrawing from entire states to reduce their exposure to climate-related losses, leaving fewer options and driving premiums higher. "We're seeing some property insurance renewals jumping 20% to 50%," she says.
Know your leases and your vendors
The response, Collins argues, is operational discipline. That means auditing vendor contracts for scope creep, ensuring that billing is accurate and pricing remains competitive and benchmarking expenses against comparable properties.
Most critically, she urges managers to know their leases inside and out. "Don't forget your lease language," Collins says.
Every lease spells out which repairs fall to the tenant and which are the landlord's responsibility. When managers aren't clear on those distinctions or don't enforce them consistently, they end up absorbing costs that aren't theirs. "It's rarely the big ticket items that get you — it's the repairs nobody questioned," Collins says. "A clogged drain line here, a filter replacement there, a thermostat swap that should have been the tenant's call. Multiply that across a portfolio and you're looking at real money that was never yours to spend."
Finding efficiency without big capital outlays
Energy costs are another area to look for savings. Auditing utility invoices can turn up billing errors and unannounced rate changes. Smart thermostats, occupancy sensors and recalibrated building controls can all deliver meaningful savings without major capital outlays.
Collins also points to IREM's Certified Sustainable Property certification as a way for managers to access efficiency best practices. State and local rebate programs for LED retrofits or new HVAC systems are worth exploring as well. They can help close the payback period on upgrades.
Where technology meets savings
Technology is another lever managers should explore. Collins sees lease automation, work order routing and delinquency follow-up as prime candidates for automation. That can free managers to focus on deepening tenant relationships.
In multifamily buildings, AI-powered maintenance-triage tools are changing how residents interact with their buildings. "If a person is having a leaky faucet at 10pm, they can chat with the AI that can help them troubleshoot the problem," Collins explains , noting that maintenance can still be dispatched if the tenant is unable or unwilling to repair themselves.
Sensors are becoming a predictive tool as well. For example, water sensors placed under HVAC units can flag condensation buildup before it becomes a ceiling leak and a costly repair.
Don't cut so deep that tenants bolt
There is a danger of cutting too deep. Reducing maintenance staff might produce savings, but slower response times can put landlords in default of their service level commitments and erode the tenant relationships that keep buildings full.
"The cost of tenant turnover is much higher than anything else," Collins says.
Her advice is simple: be visible. "Be on site, be in your buildings and talk to your tenants," she says. In a tough market, that goodwill can deliver more cost savings than any other strategy.
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