Amenities Every Modern Build-to-Rent Should Have

With COVID restrictions still in place for the foreseeable future, residents are experiencing their homes in the most extreme use-case; as a place to study, work, entertain, eat, exercise and relax. Now renters not only want a safer community environment, but also a more convenient and luxurious space that has multi-use features.

Investing in the right amenities is critical to attracting and retaining residents, so check out the list below and see which you can implement to keep your residents satisfied.

Health & Safety Amenities

• Sanitising Stations – A ‘new norm’ is having access to hand and surface sanitiser in communal areas, in addition to masks, gloves and clear signage to ensure social distancing.
• Fitness – Fitness amenities such as a swimming pool is a luxury within BTR, but onsite gyms, both indoor and outdoor, and communal classes can be much more space-friendly and help to build on the relationship with your residents. During lockdown one property developer, Moda even held weekly well-being and fitness classes for their residents of Angel Gardens in Manchester^₁.
• Contactless Food Delivery – With the increase in food delivery apps such as JustEat, Domino’s, Deliveroo and UberEATS, as a population we are ordering takeaways more than ever. In fact, in 2020 at least 73% of UK 18–64-year-olds had used a food delivery app within the previous 12 months². Contactless delivery became a standard across most delivery partners in a bid to safeguard their drivers and the residents and it is important as a BTR operator to facilitate that.

Entertainment-Based Amenities

• Access to Wi-Fi in common areas – Wi-Fi is pretty much the fourth utility nowadays, especially since the lines between school, work and home time have been blurred. Residents expect to be able to gain and maintain access to the internet property-wide, giving them the freedom to break away from the confines of their apartment and still do work, watch a movie, or catch up with friends and family.
• A calm, outdoor space – For a long time, it seemed walking was all we could do. Now, residents understand and value the need for a calm, outdoor area to sit, walk or rest in to get fresh air and maintain their wellbeing.

Convenience Amenities

• Parcel Lockers – In 2019/2020, a total of 2.8 billion parcels were sent in the UK, with volumes having increased by over 200 million from the previous year³. Residential parcel lockers are scalable solution that can grow with demand should they need to. In a recent webinar we ran with BISNOW, Brent Stojanovic Director of Navana Property Group said that the number of residents now asking “How many hands has this parcel been through before it has reached me?” shows that we are all hyperaware when it comes to hygiene and unnecessary contact. Quadient smart locker systems send recipients a unique access code and/or a barcode via text or email, allowing for easy access and convenient pickup; residents can retrieve packages on their schedule without unnecessary person-to-person contact with couriers, concierge or post room staff.
• Parking Upgrades – Residents are also demanding improvements in their parking garages. They want dedicated drop-off zones for Uber rides, secure space for bike storage, and electric car charging points. With almost 1.2 million passenger plug-in cars sold globally during the first seven months of 2020, the demand for these community amenities is growing⁴.

Clearly, the pandemic has shifted renters’ preferences for amenities. It falls to BTR developers and operators to offer amenities that balance the need for safety with the demand for convenience, entertainment, and wellness options. With trends such as online shopping showing no signs of slowing, amenities such as smart lockers can contribute to future-proofing your property.

Learn more

To find out more on how a Quadient Parcel Locker Solution could benefit you, request a demo.

^Sources:

1. ^{Harvey, Eleanor. BuyAssociation. Residents in build-to-rent apartments can now do virtual fitness classes. (2020, March 24) https://www.buyassociation.co.uk/2020/03/24/residents-in-build-to-rent-apartments-can-now-do-virtual-fitness-classes/}
2. ^{Kunst, Alexander. Statistica. Online food delivery bookings by brand in the UK 2020. (2021, January 25). https://www.statista.com/forecasts/997812/online-food-delivery-bookings-by-brand-in-the-uk}
3. ^{Statistica Research Department. Number of packages sent in the United Kingdom (UK) 2013-2020. (2021, January 4). https://www.statista.com/statistics/1010391/parcel-shipping-annual-volume-uk/}
4. ^{Kane, Mark. InsideEVs. Global Plug-in Electric Car Sales July 2020: The Market Takes Off. (2020, August 31). https://insideevs.com/news/441747/global-plugin-electric-car-sales-july-2020/.}