What’s the difference between renting from a buy-to-let landlord and renting in a BTR scheme? The amenities. It’s one of the sector’s biggest selling points. You rent a flat, but it comes with access to a gym, a cinema or perhaps even a co-working space. However, smack in the middle of a pandemic, these selling points are no longer available. Most of them have been closed during the beginning of the lockdown and although some are re-opening now, people are attending with caution and there is often reduced capacity.

It is now actually outdoor space which is seen as the highest commodity, which has often been the case in London. However, amidst all the worry of the pandemic, people are embracing gardens or roof terraces.

So, how does this affect the developers of BTR properties – do they need to rethink the amenities they’re providing or even the design of their blocks? Since BTR schemes are becoming increasingly popular, there are many other developments in the works. These are currently in the planning stage and COVID may have made companies think about things differently.

The good news is that it looks as though people are starting to feel a bit safer leaving their homes. Co-working spaces have seen a bit of a boom and residents are using amenities, including even swimming pools. They are just going about it in a more sensible way, as booking systems have been implemented to try and make people feel safer.

Going Virtual

Vertus, the BTR arm of Canary Wharf Group opened their first building just weeks before the lockdown and had to completely change their offering. Instead, they now have a “virtual community” for residents, bookable amenities and reduced fitness classes.

Alastair Mullens, the head of Vertus, said: “It is really important for our residents to be able to continue using these areas in a safe manner”…”as they are the heartbeat of life at 10 George Street.”

However, some amenities are easier to provide virtual experiences for than others. In some residences, the more communal options such as cinemas have proven difficult to adapt for social distancing so have remained closed. However, the rooftop gardens are proving very popular as residents are seeing this as just an “extension out of their apartments” according to Christian Armstrong, director of brand, product and technology at Get Living.

Flexibility is key

Flexibility has been a word that has been on everyone’s mind during this unpredictable time. Those planning new BTR developments are now looking at flexible spaces that can possibly be adapted for different uses.

John Badman, the director at global architecture, planning and design practice CallisonRTKL, has predicted that spaces can even change their use in a single day! “Adaptive spaces can change by the house – yoga in the morning, co-working space at lunch and a pop-up bar in the evening.”

Conversely, other developers are more confident that things will go back to normal and there’s no need to fret too much. Graham Bates, the senior director strategy – Europe at LIV Group said: “Will BTR residents still use cinemas and gyms? Sure they will. This will pass. Design should be about what is right for the building and the target demographic.”

However, one thing everyone agrees on is that BTRs need to feature a functional place to work, whether that’s inside the apartments or in the communal space. COVID has seen the acceleration of more people working from home and this is something that is likely to stay for the future.

“If you’re working from home, things like fast internet, co-working spaces, a gym and on-site food and beverage are a benefit,” says John Dunkerley, chief executive of BTR investor Apache Capital Partners.

Perhaps amenities will be multipurpose for both work and play. So, a private dining room could also double up as a boardroom for meetings. The concierge can perhaps act as a receptionist and even offer IT support. Many BTR schemes which are still in the design stage are seriously considering co-working space to be included in their plans.

Repurposing has already begun

Get Living have already started thinking about the future and they have repurposed their front offices into workspace.

While co-working is a popular choice and something we will be sure to see more of in the communal areas, not everyone will feel comfortable working in the same area. Social distancing will have increased this concern too. Therefore, how spaces inside individual flats are used may possibly be repurposed.

“It’s probably going to be more down to intelligent design rather than increasing floor areas,” says Mark Clegg, international partner at Cushman & Wakefield.
For example, the space in front of a bay window may become a functional desk space. Lesley Roberts, executive development director at Allsop, believes that apartments could be radically changed to be more of a true hybrid space:

“I think we might see more ‘work-live’ units like we saw in east London in the 1980s and 90s,” she says. “It’s the sort of thing that BTR could embrace.”

However, the demand for outdoor space has increased more than ever thanks to the pandemic, so developers believe that the days of the Juliet balcony are over. Having a balcony is a real luxury and so lower-priced property will need to consider communal outdoor space instead. In big cities though, there will be a limit as to how much outdoor space can be included within the property. Therefore, will BTRs need to be developed near parks going forward?

BTR in Suburbia

“We’ve noticed there’s more appetite to live in suburban build-to-rent,” says Pedley, who envisions the rise of the “garden-style development, where amenities are housed in a centralised clubhouse, and there are individual houses and small apartment blocks in a parkland setting”.

The problem is, no one really knows when restrictions will fully disappear and what the “new normal” may look like, so adapting for all these possibilities is difficult and possibly risky.

“Knee-jerk responses don’t seem like a good idea to me, when over the longer term Covid-19 will hopefully not be present,” says Bates.

Designing buildings take a great deal of time and COVID is just one of the unpredictable factors that happens in the industry when trying to plan for a functioning building.

“If we change everything to make it fit-for-purpose to avoid contagion, then what’s the next thing to come along?” says Roberts. “It reminds me of when the iPod came out and all the new cars were fitted with iPod jacks, and then three years later they were obsolete.”

However, just like any business, adaptability is truly important. Therefore, BTRs need to rise to the challenge of being able to accommodate the new normal, otherwise they may find that their buildings are not as popular as they were pre-COVID.