Given the ongoing interest in the residential private rented sector in the UK, many people have been looking at the multifamily housing industry in the US as a possible template for how private rented could be delivered in the UK. The ULI UK Residential Council, chaired by Nick Jopling, Executive Director at Grainger PLC, completed a second Multifamily Housing study tour to the USA in October 2013. The council visited a range of affordable, market-rent and luxury rental developments in Boston and Chicago alongside private meetings with federal and city officials, leading developers, owner-operators, architects and investors. This follows the success of the inaugural tour to Washington, DC and Boston in April.

These 4 day tours explore US private and public rental housing, both affordable and market-rate, through a mix of private meetings with industry leaders and selected site visits. Participants discover best practice and innovation; challenges overcome and lessons learned in some major U.S. cities. The study tours present an unparalleled opportunity for leaders on the UK residential property scene to tap into the insights and diverse experience of the most senior decision-makers and practitioners in the US, as their fellow ULI members.

The invitation-only study tours are limited to 16 places open solely to ULI UK Residential Council members and reflect a careful mix of the multidisciplinary membership. Tour participants have come from EC Harris, Savills, Lazard, Bouygues Development, HSBC, the DCLG PRS Taskforce, GLA, Manchester City Council and a number of housing associations. This ensures the wide-ranging and strategic conversation that is the hallmark of ULI. There is already significant  interest in a third Multifamily study tour in 2014 so interested  members should contact Alex Notay, UK Policy Director, to register their interest.

The ULI UK Residential Council is planning an active 2014 programme of UK meetings beyond the tour programme, but will also ensure the lessons from these tours are widely disseminated through a wider event and short public report. Some members are also involved in developing the ULI UK PRS Design Guide announced at RESI in September. The DCLG PRS Taskforce commissioned ULI as independent and non-lobbying expert body to develop a PRS Design Guide for the UK. This will not be a  policy document but rather a classic ULI best practice guide generated from member expertise in the  US, Germany, Sweden but tailored to what we think will work in the UK. The focus is PRS specific as opposed to just good practice for residential and after an independent review in January the Design Guide will be launched in spring 2014.