News Opinion: From sale to stay, BTR reimagines apartment living as a long-term choice

Opinion: From sale to stay, BTR reimagines apartment living as a long-term choice

Features

March 09, 2022

The emergence at scale within the UK of Build to Rent (BTR), Multi-family and Single-family developments offers a unique opportunity for the built environment to readdress the way we think about design and the way we live whilst embracing the ever-increasing importance of sustainability in all of its aspects, economic, social and environmental.

For generations we have designed homes for the private sector which are for sale or for rent. The private rental sector has, until recently, been unregulated and mismanaged. The legacy of mismanaged rented homes within the public sector looms even larger, a legacy which today’s housing associations and progressive local authorities are largely redressing.

Suitability – the provision of bespoke design and choice - has for too long been viewed as an add-on cost rather than a fundamental offer that doesn’t generate value at the point of sale. If we start to consider this offer as a long-term proposition it starts to become both common sense and commercial sense.

Less than 10 per cent of the UK population know what BTR is and yet when people learn what it is they become really interested. This is because to them it is a new idea - an idea of choice and a shift from what is traditionally a non-discretionary offer towards discretionary choice.

People are beginning to vote with their feet as the interest in the sector takes hold. They are seeking and doing something different. They are choosing to live sustainably, choosing life on demand, choosing to work from home, and choosing a home that is a place where they are proud to live.

They are seeking a place that works for them, and reflects and enhances its context. They are seeking authenticity and they are asking questions. Does it work? Who stays here and for how long? They know that retention, the average length of stay for an individual or a family, is a strong measure of success.

Across London, the housing sector has continued to deliver dense private housing schemes of mostly private tenure, almost unaffected by the pandemic. How many people living within these developments have a sense of belonging, and how many of them feel happy at home? From one massive development to the next, the offer is the same. This has created a private sector market where apartment living or renting is a last choice rather than a first choice, and yet for many it’s the only option.

The exciting shift for designers is the idea that you are designing for longevity and operational efficiency rather than simply gross-to-net ratios in order to ensure customer satisfaction. Creating places with flexible amenity that can be programmed, curated and owned by the community, creating a neighbourhood with cross-neighbourhood connections that embrace diversity rather than sterilise it. This shift means designing buildings that have a lifespan beyond the time it takes to sell the last dwelling on the project.

A designer’s consideration of urban versus suburban locations raises many parallels but presents different challenges, complicated further by the pandemic. They both are hyper local and should embrace the place. The public realm is the amenity of the community and should be for all, joining the dots between individuals and generations.

The offer should be diverse and it should be flexible. Variation is possible through standardisation and this will drive quality and provide moments of joy and excitement within special architectural details or beautifully designed spaces.

People will then add their own personality to this rich mix. The ability to live, grow, age and evolve will be the true test of success so we have to think about how we update, refresh and adapt the buildings we are designing now.

The spirit of the celebrated urbanist, Jane Jacobs, still resonates be it for a building, village or garden city. We need to allow for change and think about circular living not just the economy of a construction contract.

Our homes and places should respond to the seasons, be enjoyable from dusk till dawn and be the first choice for everyone at every point in their life.

By Richard Harvey, Partner at PRP