The UK’s population is ageing with the number of people of State Pension Age projected to increase by 28% to 15.6 million by 2035, and this is set against a backdrop of both limited supply and range of Housing with Care products for consumers to choose from in the market today. ULI, led by the ULI UK Residential Council and a member led steering committee, is producing a guide to promote new and emerging Housing with Care models, using best practice examples to demonstrate key principles.  The Guide seeks to break fresh ground and will serve as an educational piece, developed by the market for the market; using expert practitioners but convened on a neutral platform via ULI. The publication will raise awareness within the wider property industry, and amongst local authorities and commissioners, with a specified aim of attracting new entrants into this sector, as well as shaping conversations with existing participants.

The guide will focus on professionally managed communities where there is an incentive and commitment to create an alignment of interest between the resident and the owner/operator. This guide will not be specific to a tenure or funding structure i.e. the same principles apply whether event fee or rental model. However, it is concerned to focus on these new and emerging models, it does not set out to cover all Housing with Care, for which other guidance already exists.

The guide is being driven and authored by an expert led steering committee comprising: Stephanie McMahon, Head Of Research at BNP Paribas Real Estate; Sara Livadeas, Director at Social Care Works; Jeremy Porteus, Managing Director at Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN); Michael Voges, Executive Director of the Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO), Neil Revely, Member of the Board of Directors of Housing & Care 21 and Care & Health Improvement Adviser at the Local Government Association; Alex Notay, Build to Rent (Multifamily) Fund Director at PfP Capital; Phil Schmid, Director – Healthcare Investment, Alternatives at JLL; Will Jungman, Consultant, Jungman Advisory; Russell Pedley, Board Director and Co-founder at Assael Architecture; and Patrick Devlin, Partner at Pollard Thomas Edwards.

Topics to be covered in the guide will include: the opportunity; operations and management; design, form and specification; tenure and funding; and planning and policy of housing with care.

ULI UK has previously prepared a guide focusing on Build to Rent which is an emerging asset class in the UK; purpose built rental accommodation at scale, with institutional investment and professional management that puts the customer first. This shares a number of parallels with emerging Housing with Care models. The first edition of the Build to Rent guide was launched in 2014, the second in 2016 and over 2000 copies have been sold. The guide was endorsed at both national and local government levels and by other key stakeholders.

For further details about the Housing with Care Guide please contact Liz Waller.

Words by Liz Waller, Executive Director, ULI UK