The ULI UK Residential Council has continued to grow in size and impact, particularly through the Build to Rent Best Practice Guide, named by Property Week as the “industry bible for Build to Rent’.

Ongoing demand for regional Build to Rent roundtables, a partnership with the Movers & Shakers PRS Forum and a fourth sold-out Multifamily Housing study tour to the US have demonstrated how much progress has been made in getting the UK residential sector to understand the principles outlined in the Guide.

A workshop hosted by Berwin Leighton Peisner in March saw 50 council members share feedback and help to shape Edition 2 of the Build to Rent Guide. Since then a Steering Group and 8 chapter working groups have been formed from members generously giving their time and expertise to draft new content for the updated edition. As well as fully revised content from edition 1, there will be three brand new chapters and we look forward to launching this Guide in March 2016.

Our ULI UK Residential Roundtable at MIPIM 2015 was sponsored by Assael Architecture.  Those lucky enough to be in the room heard from Wayne Vandenburg (TVO Groupe), a senior ULI Chicago member and renowned multifamily housing expert in the US. Participants including Deputy Mayor of London, Ric Blakeway, also had a stimulating debate on the opportunities and challenges in this sector.

Beyond Build to Rent, Council members enjoyed a fantastic June meeting on Later Living hosted by Strutt & Parker, exploring the complexities of retirement community provision. Dr Margaret Wylde, ULI Trustee and CEO of ProMatura group came from the US to share her expert insights into Continuing Care Communities and getting real estate to better address ageing in place.

2016 will also feature our Housing Capacity conference sponsored by Arcadis (unfortunately postponed from September, but now confirmed for April 26th) as well as council meetings on Blurring the Boundaries between Public and Private Housing, Later Living and Permitted Development Rights. We also hope to have a member-only roundtable with Brandon Lewis, our UK Housing Minister and a new council member, who participated in this year’s multifamily study tour to Chicago and Washington DC.

Richard Meier

Partner, Argent LLP and ULI UK Residential Council Chair