Building Communities (part II)

I wrote last week about the need to make renting a positive decision, a valid lifestyle choice to meet the needs and requirements of the individuals at hand. I also argued that this situation could only ever be reached if people were willing - or indeed chose - to rent over the long-term.

Key to this is the creation of communities. People will want to rent long-term in places where they have friends, amenities and room to grow as their family does. And where people have an investment, be it financial or emotional, the more likely they are to respect and improve their community. In short, a virtuous cycle is created.

But who is best placed to create these communities?

The disparate nature of small-scale buy-to-let landlords makes it difficult for such communities to be created organically. There is a tendency for neighborhoods to be dedicated to just one type of renter. A row of Victorian houses can very quickly all be converted to flats hares leased out to young professionals; the accommodation doesn’t exist for families or retired couples and the street’s tenure can become very one-dimensional.

The number of landlords involved also makes the provision of community facilities and amenities that much more difficult. And whereas before local Government would be able to step in to coordinate provision, the looming austerity measures mean resources for this kind of activity will be increasingly scarce.

However, a quick look across the Atlantic provides a potential solution. Developers have in many places succeeded in building full communities, complete with a wide range of choice of homes - ranging from flat share apartments to detached family houses to retirement accommodation - essential services, leisure facilities and a necessary infrastructure. Residents often stay within these communities for many years, moving homes within their neighborhood as their circumstances change. With the ability to plan and have an overarching view of what is required, the developers have been able to give the residents exactly what they need.

I’ve written at length about the UK’s institutional private sector, but never really explained how I see it working in this country. To my mind, it is this American model that is the most promising.

If an institution can create a thriving community, it benefits everyone. Residents enjoy a better place to live, while the landlord benefits from higher occupancy levels as more people want to live within the communities they have created. And that is the very definition of a win-win scenario.