Chapter 4 - Managing Superdensity
Andy von Bradsky, PRP Architects
It is essential to design for cost effective management that can also help to reduce services charges in superdensity development - an area where more progress needs to be made
In recent history, the development industry has spent considerable resources on addressing the collective failure of the design, management and maintenance of tall buildings built in the 60s and 70s. We need to ensure that the current pressure to increase housing supply and maximise land use through superdense developments does not present future generations with a similar problem.
While there is much in the press around the rising costs of purchasing or renting a home, particularly in London, and the need to address affordability for first time buyers and the young, little is said about the rising management costs and the knock-on cost of service charges that impact equally on affordability. Yet, for example, service charges at the new Nine Elms Point, where densities are in excess of 350 dph are averaging between £2,250 per annum (studio) to £4,600 per annum (3B) in 2014 - a considerable monthly payment on top of a mortgage.
Service charges have historically been treated as an after-thought to the design and not given the early consideration they need in order to keep costs down. In the US and Scandinavia, the emphasis on service charges is greater. For example, in Sweden management costs are considered at the design stage and highlighted in front of the sale or rent prices as an indication of how well the scheme is managed.
However, while keeping the rising cost of management down is recognised as an increasingly critical issue by many housing providers, it is less of
a concern for trading developers who develop and sell on. This tension needs to be addressed if we are to understand the influence of design choice and
best value in terms of future management considerations and to meet the requirements of those living in flatted developments, currently 40% of London’s current accommodation, or 500,000 leaseholders. In the London Assembly report, service charges were cited as top of the list of leaseholder complaints. Lack of transparency and control over who does the work were among a number of matters raised despite many managing agents promoting their services as ‘highly transparent and open to leaseholder scrutiny’.
This final essay addresses the importance of understanding the various long-term management components at the design stage in order to minimise the complexity of maintenance in the future and to keep costs affordable for future tenants and leaseholders.
While there is much in the press around the rising costs of purchasing or renting a home, particularly in London, and the need to address affordability for first time buyers and the young, little is said about the rising management costs and the knock-on cost of service charges that impact equally on affordability. Yet, for example, service charges at the new Nine Elms Point, where densities are in excess of 350 dph are averaging between £2,250 per annum (studio) to £4,600 per annum (3B) in 2014 - a considerable monthly payment on top of a mortgage.
Service charges have historically been treated as an after-thought to the design and not given the early consideration they need in order to keep costs down. In the US and Scandinavia, the emphasis on service charges is greater. For example, in Sweden management costs are considered at the design stage and highlighted in front of the sale or rent prices as an indication of how well the scheme is managed.
However, while keeping the rising cost of management down is recognised as an increasingly critical issue by many housing providers, it is less of
a concern for trading developers who develop and sell on. This tension needs to be addressed if we are to understand the influence of design choice and
best value in terms of future management considerations and to meet the requirements of those living in flatted developments, currently 40% of London’s current accommodation, or 500,000 leaseholders. In the London Assembly report, service charges were cited as top of the list of leaseholder complaints. Lack of transparency and control over who does the work were among a number of matters raised despite many managing agents promoting their services as ‘highly transparent and open to leaseholder scrutiny’.
This final essay addresses the importance of understanding the various long-term management components at the design stage in order to minimise the complexity of maintenance in the future and to keep costs affordable for future tenants and leaseholders.
To read the full Chapter please download the report. Here we just show the Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions
In conclusion, as density inevitably continues to rise and multi-tenure schemes become commonplace, we need to ensure there is more focus on the long term management and maintenance costs at the design stage of a development, with the appropriate future management professionals participating fully from the outset. Putting in place efficient management plans is essential to avoid a repeat of the social and management problems of mid-20th century housing estates. Cost effective and efficient management arrangements in superdense development are essential to mimimise services charges and aid affordability. A balance must be struck between reducing capital costs in the short term and the costs of maintenance of the building fabric and equipment over the long term. This requires tighter specifications, closer collaboration with suppliers and early involvement of contractors during the detail design process. And although they do not impact directly on service charges, there are issues which do impact on the long-term social viability of a super dense development and need to be addressed by policy makers and authorities. These include: questions around the appropriateness of high rise buildings for families; whether social housing should be closely integrated with other tenures to avoid stigmatisation and the ‘poor door’ effect; encouraging a tenure blind approach to development that fosters long term socially sustainable communities enabling residents to move between different tenures within a neighbourhood as their circumstances change. |
Recommendations
Reduce maintenance costs by design: greater rigour is required during concept and design stage to build in robust, cost effective and efficient management arrangements in superdense development to mimimise services charges and aid affordability. This requires tighter specifications, closer collaboration with suppliers and early involvement of contractors during the detail design process. Establish a long term management cost plan during the design process: this must become a pre-requisite of the sign off process at the development stage, before schemes proceed. This should be made easier as building technology becomes more sophisticated and computerised, so that long-term maintenance arrangements need to be tied into the original suppliers. All buildings should aim to keep service charges affordable for all: tall buildings will have higher costs associated with management and maintenance whereas lower/medium rise potentially offers greater efficiency and lower costs to manage, and designers should demonstrate to local planning authorities that they have applied a sequential test to sites before opting for a tall building approach. Develop new funding streams for long term management: mechanisms are required to capture the land value uplift that is generated when planning approval is granted, or ring fence income from ground rents to provide revenue for and investment in long term management and community facilities. |