Property’s new purpose: factories of improved social outcomes

EDITOR’S COMMENT I made the mistake this week of utilising Twitter, X, or whatever it is called now, to stick up for the real estate industry. I, perhaps stupidly, suggested that Michael Gove might want to think a bit more carefully about his language choices when he referred to landlords as “bandits” in a Sunday Times article. “Alright,” I posted. “I know there are bad eggs everywhere, but I think we can safely say that there are a few ‘bandits’ in politics as well, so you might want to tone it down a bit please, Mr Gove.” I got properly trolled. How could I say such a thing? All landlords are evil, don’t you know? They are just out to do over innocent people and take their money to line their own pockets. I’m paraphrasing a bit. But not much. It was pretty intense. And yes, I know that there is a lot to be done around leasehold reform, I know that there are freeholders, managing agents and ground rent investors out there who may only focus on spreadsheets and income. But I also know there are investors, developers, landlords, agents and more out there who do care about the people that use, work in and live in the properties they own just as much as the pound signs on a spreadsheet. I also know there are a lot of reasons that those service charge and ground rent payments have gone up. When costs rise somewhere, they rise everywhere. The experience made me think about how far we’ve still got to go with changing the perception of this industry from a faceless, money-obsessed, heartless machine to the industry that I see so much of. How can we change it to the industry that Fore Partnership’s Basil Demeroutis sees? In an excellent column in EG this week, he sees a future where “every building, on every street, will be recognised for its potential to be a factory of improved social outcomes”. I love this. Imagine what we could do if every investor, developer, financier, builder, freeholder, agent, architect – I could go on but you get the gist – believed this about their assets. Imagine if every occupier or resident knew that this was the purpose of the building in which they sat. What would real estate look like then? Maybe, some would say, it would look pretty bust. That a focus on social impact rather than the value a building can deliver, would bring the multi-billion-pound real estate industry to its knees. Maybe it would. And I’m certainly not suggesting real estate becomes an entirely philanthropic industry. It is a business. However, there has to be a “but” here, right? There has to be an alternative. How about, instead of a bunch of proposals from government around potentially forcing through planning permission on brownfield land (in a handful of places) or extending permitted development rights, it looked to incentivise a new purpose for property? What if investors and developers that ensured that their assets were factories of improved social outcomes – providing affordable housing, affordable workspace, green space, safe spaces, jobs, security, the billion and one things that could improve a place – were given something back for that? What if there was a carrot to do that rather than the stick? Maybe I’m getting a bit romantic as I type these words on Valentine’s Day, but a part of me has faith that this industry – largely – would respond well. That we’d start to see a change in behaviour not only from the sector itself but perhaps from those so eager to taint its reputation. So why not start today and steal a tagline from Demeroutis – I’m sure he won’t mind – and turn your assets into factories of improved social outcomes. Big news from Team EG this week. Not satisfied with reinventing property awards ceremonies to be more inclusive, more sustainable and a whole lot more fun, for the 20th anniversary of the EG Awards this year, we are properly ripping up the rulebook and going for it. Find out more and book your seat at the show early via www.eg.co.uk/eg-events/eg-awards-2024/