Celebrating common ground: How Build to Rent operators and Housing Associations are finding a shared voice

In March this year, UKAA (the UK Apartment Association), sat down with representatives from multiple Housing Associations, in a milestone roundtable event that harnessed pent-up demand for collaboration and engagement between the two types of accommodation providers.

 

The result is a shared willingness to work together to develop a common voice for rented home providers, alongside a network for future engagement and partnerships.

 

Increasingly, Housing Associations are using forward funding models, as they seek to mitigate risk and bring higher rents in early phases of completion. Some Housing Associations have already dabbled in the Build to Rent sector, viewing it as a good component in multi-phase schemes.

 

Closer partnership working between rented home providers needs to start with a redefinition of the Build to Rent and Housing Association sectors – a task on which UKAA is well positioned to lead. After all, the two sectors have a core shared purpose, delivering a common base product of purpose-built, high-quality, professionally managed homes for rent, developed with placemaking in mind and a resident-centric focus.

 

UKAA will lead the work, engaging with Local Authorities alongside Housing Associations to create a full, best practice-based solution encompassing different vehicles and ownership models, including freehold, leasehold, commonhold and other, new structures. Attention will be paid to defining the requirements for investors, as well as for the levels of engagement and the contractual commitments that investors need in forward funded deals.

 

Enabling effective long-term partnerships will be key to this future offering from rented home providers, with Build to Rent investors increasingly partnering with Housing Association on their development programmes. UKAA will act as a critical friend as perceptions shift, serving as a conduit between Build to Rent operators and affordable rental home providers, to forge a new, more unified future.

 

Hear from Brendan at Housing 2023 where he joins the Place-led development: place-making, tenure-balance and the long-term plan session in the Future of Living, Charter 2 theatre on Wednesday 28^th June, 9.30 – 10.30 am.