Specified to requirement.
Schemes drawn for the private rented market and schemes drawn for local authority placement diverge on unit mix, accessible provision, room sizes and services strategy. Each of those carries negligible cost at design stage and substantial cost once built.
Specification input is available from RIBA Stage 2 onwards.
Six decisions, ranked by cost to reverse.
These are standard requirements across the authorities we supply, and most carry no capex premium over a conventional PRS specification. They differ from the default because the default optimises for open market sale values rather than placement.
Unit mix
Irreversible once built
Two and three bedroom units carry the acute shortages and the longest placement tenure. A scheme weighted to studios and one beds maximises unit count against a GDV model and underperforms against a placement model. On a site carrying twelve units, ten at the correct mix will out-yield twelve at the wrong one over the term.
Accessible units
Part M, and the case for exceeding it
Level access, wet room and turning circle. Accessible stock is the most acute shortage across every authority we supply, and placements routinely remain unmade for want of it. M4(2) and M4(3) units repay deliberate specification rather than minimum compliance with the planning condition.
Room sizes and storage
The Nationally Described Space Standard as a floor
Undersized second bedrooms are the most common cause of a two bed being classified and let as a one bed, with a corresponding reduction in placement value. Built-in storage carries more weight in family placement than in private letting, given the circumstances in which households arrive.
Fire and building safety
Applicable regime and programme impact
Compartmentation, alarm grade, escape strategy and the golden thread. Above eighteen metres or seven storeys the Building Safety Act regime applies, and Gateways 2 and 3 sit on the critical path rather than beside it. Early sight of the fire strategy avoids inheriting a building that cannot be licensed.
Metering and services
One meter per unit, without exception
Individually metered electricity, gas and water with separate consumer units. Communal or estimated billing introduces recharge disputes across the term and renders certain placement routes unavailable.
Finish and durability
Specified for turnover cycles
Hard wearing floors, wipeable surfaces, commercial grade ironmongery and kitchens replaceable in parts. Specification here is an opex decision rather than a capex one: the relevant test is condition at the fourth tenancy, not at handover.
Engagement across the development programme.
Completed buildings are taken on their merits. Engagement from RIBA Stage 2 allows mix, accessible provision and services strategy to be settled while they remain open, which is where the value sits. By practical completion price is the only remaining variable.
- 01
Pre-planning
Mix, density and accessible provision, while the scheme remains open to change.
- 02
Planning submitted
A demand statement supporting the application where the authority requires one, evidenced from placement data.
- 03
Technical design
Room sizes, metering, fire strategy and finish schedule reviewed against licensing and placement requirements.
- 04
On site
Heads of terms agreed, so commercial terms are settled ahead of completion.
- 05
Practical completion
Commencement. Rent runs from this date irrespective of occupancy.
Specification review before the mix is fixed.
A site plan and schedule of accommodation at whatever stage they have reached. The review is provided at no cost.