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For build to rent the considerations are:
(1) Facilities, and
(2) Utilities should be included within the rent our study reveals that generally only the schemes
offering few facilities tend to make them ‘all inclusive’ and generally ‘utilities’ need to be
individually metered/priced to meet legislative requirements.

10.6 On larger schemes pricing acts also to ration facilities and manage demand, and also to use for ‘offers’
and ‘treats’, and to ‘engage’ with new tenants with ‘taster’ sessions as well as enabling marketing to
reignite the use of facilities. Our research bears out that it is critical to include the following in rent:
 Wi-Fi
 Phone use priced with free line rental
 Complimentary phone calls between apartments
 Free TV set top box and Free view channels
 Gym use (post a paid induction)
 Free light bulbs
 Free Car club membership * worth £25
 Free Bicycle club membership * worth £20
 No nonsense quick transfer to Wi-Fi/internet support

And ‘Contract free’
 Handset and phone line
 Sky TV & FASTER broadband packages (residents can upgrade & buy film bundles)

Ultimately it is about making the ‘essentials’ and the ‘annoying’ included and then fair pricing for use of
facilities: ‘market rent’ + a ‘facilities & add-on’s as a separate profit centre

Two examples at different ends of the spectrum are:
Essential Living who are not ‘all inclusive, and Quintain in Wembley who are!
There is also an emerging theme of not burdening tenants with the little annoying things, for example
The Collective & Fizzy don’t expect tenants to change light bulbs.

10.7 ‘Build to rent concept’ : furniture & facilities impact on rents
It is important early on to establish your rent strategy and the market segment you want to pitch for.
The bias to market rent but ‘affordable’ with a capital ‘A’ will need to reflect in build design, e.g.,
 All-inclusive rents – mostly applies to sites which don’t offer many facilities,
 Furniture – consider the options:
Option 1: part furnished - the ‘Unite’ student furniture model with minimal bulk furniture included
and ‘desks’, ‘chairs’ etc. rented as extras,
Option 2: rent to own furniture packs - the ‘Fizzy’ furniture model with residents taking rent to own
furniture packs on a 3 year rental
Option 3: fully furnished – research by David Phillips claims that the right furniture can be paid off
by the landlord in just 1.5 years through the increase in rent. This being driven by the
squeeze on tenants disposable income and inability to fund furniture purchase and the
desire to maintain ease of mobility.
Option 4: unfurnished – research by David Phillips suggests 50% of the private rented sector (PRS) is
unfurnished – and in London, just 10-20%.

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