ºÚÁÏÍø

In conversation with … Kirpal Rehinsi, Head of Touchstone’s Build to Rent Consultancy and Business Development. His optimistic view of how BTR will continue to grow includes a call to government to help investors, landlords and developers of all sizes

Tell us how you came to work in BTR

Like most people, it seems, I fell into this industry. I left university with a psychology degree and a master’s in marketing and then looked at what to do next.Ìý A friend was living in student halls run by Unite. Looking for work, I responded to an advert and got a call from the recruiter asking if I wanted to be a manager of a Unite scheme on a temporary contract.

Unite are primarily a PBSA company but this building was a mix of students and key workers, and I really enjoyed it. I stayed with Unite for around five years and then moved over to Fresh as regional manager. I managed a portfolio, loved it and was there for around 10 years setting up their consultancy and mobilisation arm, and consulting on PBSA & BTR schemes.

Around 2014-15 I looked at a new scheme in Leeds, for a client at Fresh, which happened to be a Build to Rent development. I consulted on that, helped to mobilise it and that’s where I caught the BTR bug. It was new and exciting – and it still is.

What was it like at that time?

ÌýTen years ago, BTR was such an exciting and new concept for the UK.

I was involved in some of the really early discussions such as should we have washing machines within apartments, or should we have laundries as in student accommodation? What should we do around the internet? There were all these different amenity conversations, so it was such an interesting time. Fresh is owned by Watkin Jones and I joined various working groups and projects helping to define the BTR product because there were only a few schemes back then and proof of concept isn’t quite what it is now.

Now there are c. 115,000 completed BTR homes in this country but back in 2015 the conversations were around: What is it that we want to offer? What’s our product? Where are we going to place ourselves in the market? What kind of amenities should we have? What about sizes? What are the apartments going to look like? What sort of appliances should we have?

It was all innovative and stimulating – and then came Covid. I worked through the pandemic and then felt I wanted a break so after a glorious decade at Fresh and Watkin Jones, I decided to step away.

What happened next?

I planned to have a career break for about a year, and I found myself spending time running, or in the gym so I qualified as a personal trainer. I set up my own business and ran it for a year – it was one of the biggest learning experiences I think I’ve ever had. It was a fantastic, fun experience but I started to miss property and the buzz, so I applied for a role with Touchstone Residential as the Head of BTR operations. I got the job and have since moved into a business development role, which I’m really enjoying.

Ìý

What is top of your in-tray?

ÌýThere isn’t a day where I’m not getting an e-mail or a phone call about a potential scheme, which is fantastic.

It feels as though the industry has had a real shot in the arm over the last quarter or so.
I suspect it’s a reflection either in trust of the new government or the fact that interest and inflation rates have come down so there’s something to be excited about. It’s been a challenging couple of years because of interest rates, the economy generally and inflation in the price of materials, construction and labour. There haven’t been as many schemes coming to the market as perhaps we might have hoped. But that’s changed, the sector has made big strides forwards – and there’s more to come.

We have just taken on a new scheme of 270 units in Manchester. It’s an existing BTR development which we have taken over and transitioned into our management, and I always stay close to new clients during this phase.Ìý

We’re doing a lot of work with local authorities, which is an untapped market for BTR.
We are working on a local authority scheme in Essex and mobilising one in Kent on behalf of another who see it as a beacon of their regeneration programme for the wider town.

BTR is much more virtuous than simply a roof over someone’s head.Ìý It can kickstart a whole programme – just look at Wembley, or Stratford and the social value BTR has brought to those neighbourhoods. We consult with clients right from the beginning – pre-planning, we’ll set rents, create budgets andÌý forecast future income and cost. And we look at design and advise on amenity spaces and the entire scheme – there’s a lot going on where we can share our experience and add value.

With all that going on, what keeps you awake at night?

Not much, to be honest. I think about a year ago I would have had a different answer but it feels now that there’s been a boost to the industry and things are moving in the right direction. There’s still a lot to do; we have a shortage of housing, and the government needs to play their part in helping to solve this. They’ve got some very optimistic plans to deliver the 300,000 homes we need per year, but that is not going to happen overnight. They need to find solutions across the rental spectrum, supporting landlords of all types in more and varied ways.

It’s about supporting all landlords of all sizes, whether that’s your single buy-to-let investor or an investor on a much larger, institutional scale.

Ultimately, it’s a simple economic equation. This government, and rightly so, is trying to bring in more affordable housing along with improving rental standards for tenants. But the harder you make it for landlords or developers, or the more expensive you make it for landlords of all types, the harder it is then going to be to offer an affordable product, of high quality, to the end user, the customer.

How do you think the ARL can help and how do how do you see the BTR agenda developing over the next five years or so?

The ARL have got an integral role in all of this, lobbying government
to support landlords and developers to get schemes to market as quickly as possible and continuing to work with and educate local authorities on the benefits and virtues of Build to Rent. This should also include co-living and single-family housing.

I think the market will shift over the next five years or so. Local authorities are looking at BTR as a serious solution to resolving their housing challenges with all the benefits that may come from this. For example, increased potential of retaining or attracting talented individuals to live and work locally, improved facilities for the community such as parking or amenities, or redevelopment of brownfield sites. This all leads to local regeneration and improvements to the local economy, community and culture.

BTR in 2024 feels quite homogenised but I can see that it’s starting to differentiate and split into ‘BTR premium’, with gyms, concierge, lounges, co-working etc and rents at the higher end of the scale and also a ‘BTR light’ which might not be as highly amenitised.

I’m also seeing evidence of both institutional investors and local authorities bringing on affordable schemes, perhaps via a discount on market rent. We are looking at a scheme with a local authority client who are looking just to charge local housing allowance.

Ultimately, the common theme will be high-quality, professionally managed developments, well designed with the end user in mind. And, perhaps, rather than BTR being the umbrella brand for all of this, it will once again become its own sub-sector under a catch-all term like ‘purpose-built living’.

BTR run properly, run professionally, can have a real impact and I think ARL are doing a great job of selling that to local government and planners.

Have you a call to action?

My call to action would be for the government to start properly engaging with investors, landlords and developers of all sizes and for local authorities to continue to find out more about how their peers are using different tactics and strategies to resolve their housing challenges. I would call on them to pick up the phone, and we can discuss options to help them to move forward.