Inside Nathan Levinson’s Playbook: PropTech Solutions That Keep Rental Profits Rising

Ontario’s rental market is confronting a strategic inflection point. Landlords face rising costs; from maintenance and taxes to high financing rates, while provincial rent controls and affordability pressures limit revenue.

For example, Ontario’s annual rent-increase guideline is only 2.5% for 2025, even as inflation and operating costs remain elevated.

At the same time, Ottawa is easing borrowing costs (the Bank of Canada’s overnight rate is 2.75% as of June 2025) and consumer prices are 1–2% year-over-year.

In this complex environment, forward-looking landlords need tools to squeeze more value from their assets. Real-time property technology, from IoT sensors to dynamic tenant platforms promises precisely that.

This article shows how Ontario landlords can use data and dashboards to modernize operations, with the latest market data and a real-world case for context.

Market Snapshot: Ontario Housing and Rental Data  

• Home Prices (Ontario): Ontario’s housing market has cooled modestly. In May 2025 the average resale price was down 3.6% from a year earlier. On a year-to-date basis, the average price through May 2025 was ~$851,977.

• Rent and Vacancy: Demand for rentals remains strong. Ontario’s purpose-built rental vacancy has risen but is still low, roughly 2–3% province-wide in late 2024. Leases on turnover saw rents jump by about 4.0% in 2024, even though current tenants could raise rents only ~2.5%. CMHC reported Canada’s overall apartment vacancy at ~2.2% in Oct 2024 (up from 1.5% in 2023), underscoring tight markets.

• Rent Increase Guidelines: Ontario’s 2025 rent cap is 2.5%, the lowest in Canada. (Above-guideline increases require a formal application to the Landlord-Tenant Board.) This means landlords can’t simply offset higher costs by raising rents beyond 2–3% per year.

• Operational Pressures: Inflation was ~1.7% in April 2025, and many property expenses (energy, materials, labour) saw double-digit jumps in prior years. Although construction and materials price growth have stabilized recently, maintenance and utility costs remain significant. Meanwhile, tenant demographics are shifting: first-time buyers are delaying purchases and extending rentals, while record immigration is boosting demand.

Collectively, these trends (higher costs + capped rents + robust demand) create a squeeze on Ontario landlords’ margins. Real-time PropTech offers a way to improve margins and tenant relations through data-driven efficiency.

Why Real-Time Prop-Tech is Essential Now  

Several economic factors make real-time property technology a strategic necessity in 2025:

Inflation and Costs:  Even though consumer inflation has eased to ~2%, core costs like wages and services remain sticky. While overall construction cost increases have slowed, core inflation in wages and services is still “sticky”, directly impacting property maintenance and upgrades. PropTech (e.g. IoT monitoring) helps anticipate maintenance needs and control energy usage, mitigating these costs.

Financing Pressure:  Mortgage and loan rates spiked in 2022–24 (BoC’s overnight rate peaked at 5% in 2023) before easing to 2.75% by mid-2025. However, many landlords still carry higher-rate debt and face lower return on new investments. In this context, efficiency gains from technology (such as remote property management tools or predictive maintenance) help protect cash flow.

Revenue Constraints:  With Ontario’s rent-increase cap locked at 2.5%, landlords cannot simply pass higher costs to tenants. Meanwhile, competing for tenants is tougher, vacancy has ticked up in suburban markets, so keeping units filled is critical. Real-time dashboards and tenant portals improve occupancy and collections by speeding up leasing and rent payments.

Tenant Expectations:  Modern renters expect online conveniences (digital payments, fast maintenance, virtual tours). Landlords using outdated processes risk lower satisfaction. Real-time tools (self-service portals, mobile apps) can boost tenant experience and retention.

In sum, Ontario’s macro context (inflation, borrowing costs, supply growth) means “doing nothing” is not an option.

As Nathan Levinson (CEO of Royal York Property Management) observes, homebuying is down and people are renting longer, driving a “surge in rental prices”. Tech-enabled landlords who can reduce downtime and optimize pricing are best positioned to capture that upside.

Key Metrics for Landlord Dashboards  

To leverage real-time data, landlords should identify and monitor specific KPIs on a dashboard. Critical metrics include:

• Rent Roll / Occupancy: Track total units, occupied percentage, upcoming lease expirations, and rent-collection rate. (E.g. what % of rent due has been collected on time.) These indicate revenue health and alert you to vacancies or arrears.

• Vacancy Duration: Measure average days on market for vacant units, and time to lease. Faster turnaround means less lost income. Dashboards can show this in real time to flag problem properties.

• Maintenance Response & Resolution Time: Record the time from tenant maintenance request to resolution. Long response times can lead to dissatisfied tenants and legal penalties. A real-time view of open tickets helps managers allocate resources efficiently.

• Maintenance Backlog and Costs: Monitor number of outstanding work orders, vendor/contractor spend, and aging maintenance items. This lets you spot escalating problems (e.g. a leaky roof ignored for too long).

• Tenant Satisfaction: Use surveys or service ratings. As one expert guide notes, collecting and analyzing tenant feedback is “vital” for retention.

• Financial KPIs: Track operating expense per unit, cash flow margins, and turn-over costs (average cost to re-prepare a unit). These financials help quantify ROI from tech investments.

In practice, a “property management dashboard” aggregates data from the PMS, IoT systems, accounting, and tenant apps to display these metrics in real time.

For example, occupancy rate, maintenance-resolution time, rent collection rate, and tenant satisfaction can all be visualized on one screen. This empowers executives to spot trends (e.g. rising late-payments) and make quick decisions (e.g. incentivize lease renewals or upgrade amenities).

Recommended Prop-Tech Tools  

The prop-tech landscape offers many solutions. Key tools for real-time management include:

IoT Sensors (Smart Devices):  Install sensors for water leaks, smoke/CO, smart thermostats, smart locks, and occupancy.

Pros: Enables predictive maintenance (e.g. catch a failing furnace via temperature sensors), automates energy savings (smart HVAC controls), and improves security (smart cameras, locks). Tenants enjoy healthier, safer units.

Cons: Upfront hardware and installation costs; data integration complexity; ongoing sensor maintenance and cybersecurity considerations.

Tenant Portals / Platforms:  Provide an online portal or app for tenants to pay rent, request maintenance, and view lease docs.

Pros: Streamlines rent collection (electronic payments, reminders) and communications (broadcast notices, FAQs). Tenants get 24/7 self-service, improving satisfaction. Admin overhead drops (less paper, fewer calls).

Cons: Adoption requires tenant training/support, and the landlord must ensure data privacy. Setup costs exist (platform fees or development).

Mobile Inspection / Maintenance Apps:  Use smartphone/tablet apps for unit inspections, walk-through checklists, and photo documentation.

Pros: Dramatically speeds up unit turnover and routine inspections. Inspectors can capture and file photos in real time, reducing clerical work. Improves record-keeping and compliance.

Cons: Requires staff/contractors to use smartphones; internet connectivity or offline syncing needed; potential licensing fees.

API-Powered Market Comps Engines:  Leverage API services that provide up-to-date rent comparables (from listings or MLS data) and vacancy stats.

Pros: Allows data-driven pricing. Landlords can adjust rents quickly based on real market comps rather than guesswork.

Cons: These services can be pricey and may require programming to integrate. Data quality varies by provider, and APIs may have usage limits.

90-Day Rollout Plan  

Implementing real-time PropTech need not be overwhelming. A 90-day phased plan can ensure success:

 Days 1–30 – Assess & Plan:  

1. Identify pain points (e.g. high maintenance backlog, collection issues).

2. Consult key stakeholders (leasing, maintenance, IT).

3. Select vendors for core tools (tenant portal, IoT provider, etc.) and define success metrics.

4. Ensure data integration paths (APIs, import/export) are mapped out.

5. Gain management buy-in by highlighting expected ROI.

 Days 31–60 – Pilot & Integrate:  

Roll out systems in a controlled way. For instance, implement the tenant portal for one building or a subset of tenants, install sensors in a few units, and train a small team on the inspection app.

1. Import existing rent-roll into any new software.

2. Begin collecting data.

3. Monitor performance: are rent payments coming in online?

4. Are maintenance tickets being tracked automatically?

5. Gather feedback from the pilot users to refine workflows.

 Days 61–90 – Scale & Refine:  

1. Expand the rollout to more properties based on pilot learnings.

2. Onboard remaining tenants to the portal and staff to the mobile app.

3. Fine-tune dashboard reports: set up alerts (e.g. vacancy >30 days) and regular review meetings.

4. Publicize wins (e.g. faster repairs, on-time payments) to build momentum.

By day 90, all properties should be live, with management reviewing dashboard KPIs weekly.

This staged approach – plan, pilot, then scale – helps ensure that issues are caught early and that teams adapt smoothly. It also provides quick “wins” (such as a handful of quicker lease-ups or automated rent collection) to justify further investment. Many property managers find that by three months in, they are already seeing clearer visibility into cash flow and occupancy.

Case Study: Royal York Property Management  

Canada’s largest landlord services company offers a real-life example. Royal York Property Management (RYPM) – led by CEO Nathan Levinson – has aggressively embraced PropTech. Levinson notes that RYPM now manages ~25,000 units (over C$10.1B in assets) and owes part of its growth to data-driven operations. Specifically:

• AI Tenant-Matching: RYPM uses an AI-powered tenant-to-property matching engine. In practice, this means new vacancies are filled in under 15 days on average, far faster than the industry norm. Levinson explains, “This has allowed the RYPM team to devise a process that maximizes the return on investment for owners”. In other words, faster lease-ups mean less rent loss and higher ROI for owners.

• In-House Maintenance: Unlike many firms, RYPM maintains its own contractors (electrical, plumbing, cleaning, etc.). Real-time dispatch via mobile apps means repair issues are handled immediately. Levinson emphasizes that their team “promptly addresses any repair or renovation needs, minimizing the time the property remains vacant and maximizing rental income”. Early identification of issues (through regular inspections and sensor alerts) has further cut costs.

• Tenant Screening & Guarantee: Advanced screening tools reduce defaults, and RYPM even offers a “rental guarantee” to cover owner losses if a tenant fails to pay. These measures supported by data analytics increase net cash flow stability.

• Business Intelligence: Behind the scenes, RYPM continuously refines its dashboards. Every property’s rent-roll, maintenance backlog, and satisfaction rating feed into a centralized system. Levinson says data-driven decision-making “has allowed the company to grow so rapidly”.

The operational improvements are clear: full pipelines of tenants, near-zero delinquency, and simplified expenses. Their example underscores how integrated PropTech (AI matching + 24/7 portals + mobile maintenance + analytics) translates into measurable business results.

Strategic Takeaways and Call to Action  

Ontario landlords face a uniquely tight market. With homeownership out of reach for many and demand surging, rental housing remains the growth opportunity but only for those who operate efficiently.

The evidence is compelling: Real-time PropTech is not a “nice to have” but a strategic imperative. By monitoring rent rolls and key KPIs in real time, landlords can preempt vacancies, cut maintenance costs, and keep tenants happy.

For executives ready to modernize, next steps include:

• Audit Your Tech Gap: Map your current processes (rent collection, maintenance, leasing) and identify where delays or errors occur.

• Choose Vendors Wisely: Evaluate PropTech platforms that integrate (tenant portals, accounting, maintenance). Look for analytics features, not just standalone apps.

• Pilot with a Partner: Work with a forward-thinking property manager (e.g. an RYPM franchise or a local firm) or a PropTech consultant to run a 90-day trial.

• Measure Everything: Use the dashboard metrics outlined above to track progress. As Levinson cautions, the coming year “may make the market even more competitive” – only the data-informed will thrive.

Innovate now or watch profits erode later. By leveraging IoT sensors, smart apps, and integrated data platforms, Ontario’s landlords can defend margins and delight tenants even in a challenging economy.

As this analysis shows, small technology investments can yield big returns in occupancy, efficiency, and owner satisfaction. The clock is ticking: forward-thinking executives should make prop-tech a priority today.

Published in: CEOWORLD Magazine