Build to rent — an opportunity to take the lead
We have an exciting opportunity for developers in the build to rent sector to take the lead in deepening and demonstrating their social impact.
The Quality of Life Foundation is teaming up with the British Property Federation to collaborate on research, starting in January 2023 with a report to be published autumn 2023. It will examine the health and wellbeing outcomes for residents across a number of build to rent developments.
We’re looking to work with 6–10 developers in this growing sector to work with on a Resident Review research project.
The project will highlight best practice, create a benchmark for what good looks like across the sector and provide independent analysis of risks and ways to mitigate them.
Why this matters
We are in a cost of living crisis, where lack of affordability threatens to undermine people’s health and wellbeing.
With squeezed local authority budgets, there is increased responsibility on those who profit from developments, and a growing need to demonstrate the social impact of their projects.
And as we build towards Net Zero, we need to highlight the social and environmental benefits of better developments.
How the research will help
The research will provide evidence for the value of investing in creating communities. It will mitigate the risk of building socially unsustainable places. And it will improve trust with residents and wider stakeholders.
Rather than just marking your own homework, it will allow you to benchmark across the industry and against national datasets.
Key benefits
Through taking part in the project, build to rent developers will gain a deeper understanding of residents’ attitudes, with analysis and recommendations from independent researchers on each site.
Our research methods give credibility when explaining projects to land owners or local authorities and our easy-to-lift metrics improve internal reporting and benchmarking.
Ongoing analysis can be used to improve your product delivery and the nuance of shifting trends in the market.
Crucially, using the data and analysis from the review, the BPF will be able to showcase to central and local government stakeholders the value of build to rent developments in delivering for people, place, and wellbeing.
The accompanying report will demonstrate the value of build to rent developments in delivering the Quality of Life Framework.
Next steps
If you’re in the build to rent sector and want to be part of this innovative and important research, we’d love to hear from you.
Get in touch by emailing matthew@qolf.org
Read our recent Resident Review report from our pilot studies to get a flavour of what Resident Review looks like in practice.