What we do

2009 - spring

ACTIVITIES REPORT 

Here's a brief overview of what we've been up to in the last four months, from March to June 2009, and in many cases are continuing to work on (the clue is in the tense).

Commercial

• engaging with the trade association that represents insolvency practitioners, R3, to raise their awareness of landlords concerns on pre-packs, CVAs, etc, with meetings at CEO and director level
• successfully amended the Business Rate Supplement Bill to include legislation covering BIDs
• sounding out support for the Service Charge Compliance Index developed by Real Service
• through the Commercial Committee, monitoring the leasing implications of the Carbon Reduction Commitment and implementation of EPCs
• engaging with officials at CLG who are carrying out an interim review of the dissemination of the Lease Code - a full review of the code itself will happen in 2011
• monitoring the London Mayor's commitment to supporting small shops and what that would entail
• through the PIA, launched the third annual Occupiers' Satisfaction Survey

Residential

• supporting the HCA expressions of interest exercise, arranging a seminar for 100 participants during the EOI period and making our modelling work available to investor members
• involved as central stakeholders in the Government's work taking forward the Rugg Review of the Private Rented Sector, sitting on two of its 'task and finish' groups
• formally launching our Code of Practice for Residential members and AST on 13 July at a reception with the minister, Ian Austin MP, which is sponsored by Grainger and Orchard and Simpson
• monitoring the Equality Bill and Equal Treatment Directive for any consequences for property owners
• engaged with DEFRA and are planning a meeting with UK Water, to discuss possible implications of the water charging review for residential landlords
• organising a lunch or dinner with members, Grant Shapps MP and the shadow housing team to discuss their PRS review
• after the lull of pre-election purdah, responding to a throng of residential consultation papers: RICS Transparency Consultation (17-7-09); EU Equal Treatment Directive (28-7-09); Government response to Rugg (7-8-09); HMO planning proposals (7-8-09); Right to enfranchise (3-8-09); Mayor's Housing Strategy (31-8-09); Housing Benefit Incentives (10-9-09)
• engaging with the GLA to ensure their continued support for an institutional PRS in the Mayor's Housing Strategy and various aspects of revisions to the London Plan

Insurance

• raised the profile of flood within the sector and the significant risk that flood insurance may be difficult to obtain in the future at an affordable price if measures are not taken now to invest in flood defences
• organised a seminar on the Thames Estuary 2100 consultation and a trip for 40 members, courtesy of the Environment Agency, to see the inner workings of the Thames Barrier
• engaged with and fed back our view to the ABI on their guidance on insurance issues for new developments
• working up our responses to the Draft Water and Floods Bill and Thames Estuary TE2100 consultation - both major consultation documents on flooding
• monitoring developments following our input last year into an FSA consultation on insurance commissions and engaging in the RICS consultation on transparency

Finance and investment

• supported the work of the PIA property debt group to explain how intricately interconnected the relationship is between the property market and the stability of the UK's financial sector, and to articulate thoughts on how that relationship should be managed over the next few years
• briefed the Tories on the measures missing from the Finance Bill to support the REITs through the downturn and they argued our points in Standing Committee
• gave evidence, alongside RICS, to a House of Lords committee examining the REIT provisions of the Finance Bill; the committee's report strongly endorsed our positions both on crisis measures to help the REITs and on the need for strategic liberalisation of the regime
• helped build significant political and stakeholder support for tax measures to support greater institutional investment in the PRS, including through an SDLT relief for bulk purchases of residential property, a measure for which we will continue to argue following its disappointing omission from the Finance Bill
• working closely with our regeneration colleagues, taken a very active role in promoting the use of tax increment financing in the UK, particularly focusing on financial aspects
• created working groups to look closely at particular ways in which the tax system could be used to encourage more sustainable, and more sustainable use of, existing commercial buildings, contributing to the BPF response to the HESS consultation and with a view to delivering a more detailed report to HM Treasury on the subject in due course
• working to better understand and address the needs of those of our members who invest in and manage property funds, and working closely with AREF, IPF and others to minimise the unintended and undesirable consequences on the property sector of a proposed new EU Directive on alternative investment fund management
• continuing to monitor the implementation of the reform of the taxation of companies' foreign profits, helping secure an important amendment to the exclusion for REITs from the worldwide debt cap
• with invaluable support from members of the Tax Committee, made a thorough and detailed response to the latest draft of the Tax Law Rewrite of the REIT legislation
• together with our partners in the global real estate alliance REESA, submitted responses to a number of important consultations on financial reporting standards, in particular on financial statement presentation and revenue recognition, with a submission on lease accounting to follow in July

Planning

• followed up the main recommendations set out in the BPF Planning Manifesto and are confident that many of them will be taken forward
• held a meeting with the Conservative spokesman to discuss a range of planning issues including the proposals in the BPF Planning Manifesto
• participating in a range of work relating to the implementation of the recommendations of the Killian Pretty Review, including creating a new mechanism to deal with minor material amendments rather than having to submit a whole new application
• continued to input to the CLG's work on the regulations relating to the community infrastructure levy
• responding to the new draft PPS on economic development that brings together a number of existing pieces of Government planning guidance, including those on economic development and town centres
• discussing with CLG their proposals to extend the life of planning consents and now responding to the formal consultation on this issue
• pulled together a coalition of bodies and raised funding to help create a network of training for local authority planners and councillors on development economics

 

Regeneration and development

• produced a Regeneration Manifesto, prepared by the Regeneration Committee, setting out a programme of measures to bolster the regeneration sector and expedite its recovery as economic conditions improve; launched it at an event and gained good media coverage
• succeeded in encouraging the Government to exploring the feasibility of setting up tax increment financing pilots; we are part of the Government's core group that is examining this issue along with local authorities and the HCA
• lobbying Government about issuing guidance on the over zealous interpretation of EU procurement rules following a decision by the European Court of Justice (Jean Auroux and Others v Commune de Roanne); we anticipate that guidance will be issued shortly
• held a meeting with Stuart Jackson MP, who is drafting a policy paper for the Conservatives on regeneration and planning
• provided the secretariat for the All Party Urban Development Group's inquiry into regeneration funding and produced the inquiry report; followed up with a media campaign generating a lot of coverage
• working with a number of bodies on the production of guidance on the provision of social infrastructure

Sustainability

• through our Sustainability Committee, working with other property bodies to set up a group to look at clarifying and streamlining the framework for measuring and reporting on sustainability performance at the building and property portfolio level
• working with the UK Green Building Council and others on the possible creation of a property sector supplement under the Global Reporting Initiative; we are also responding to the Government's consultation on its voluntary UK carbon reporting guidance
• responded to the Government's consultation on the definition of zero carbon development, the Code for Sustainable Homes and approaches to improving the sustainability of new non-domestic buildings
• responded to the Department for Energy and Climate Change consultation on energy efficiency and heat; it discusses approaches to the improvement of the existing domestic and non-domestic stock
• collaborated with a range of other property industry bodies to produce a guide to the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) for landlords and tenants, and launched it through the media with great success; we are looking to form a new pan-industry group to maintain pressure on Government to revise key aspects of the CRC proposals
• co-ordinated a response to the CRC Draft Order Consultation on behalf of a number of members, and liaised with other PIA members to present uniform positions on key issues in our respective responses
• contributed to work on green leases being carried out by the Better Buildings Partnership and the Lease Code Working Group
• responding to the consultation on the review of part L of the building regulations, covering the energy performance of buildings; contributed to the European Property Federation's position on the proposal for a recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
• discussing with the Carbon Trust a range of issues about the expansion of our LES-TER toolset
• providing secretariat support for the Green Property Alliance, which seeks to co-ordinate work on sustainability issues across the industry

Construction

• collaborating with the Construction Clients Group, through our Construction Committee, to produce a survey of clients on the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2007
• looking at ways of ameliorating the difficulties, delays and inefficiencies that arise in utilities connections; one option being explored is the production of a 'survivor's guide' to dealing with utilities
• our representations on the construction contracts aspects of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill have been taken on board and we have helped to resist amendments that would have undermined the provisions in the bill

Communications (subs income, events, media, public affairs, member relations)

• collected £1.9m of subs from existing members, compared with an anticipated income of £1.8m; attracted further new members, taking new member income for 2009 to over £90,000, and total subs income to date to just over £2m
• held a very successful annual conference, attracting some 250 delegates, and generating very positive feedback; organised the President's Reception in Lancaster House; held a press party with law firm member Taylor Wessing and organised a number of other events and launches; planning for an austerity dinner and sustainability workshop in the autumn
• issued 21 press releases on a wide range of issues and generated excellent coverage in the broadcast media and national and trade press
• produced and published the Annual Review for 2008/09 and other literature mentioned above; began work to create a new BPF website that will be more interactive and useful than the existing one
• met with many existing member companies (as part of our member retention programme) and potential members (as part of our member recruitment programme) to increase their understanding of what we do, and how they can become involved

Scottish Property Federation

• Chairman Ken Ross attended the Scottish Government's Housing Supply Task force and established good contacts in relation to Scottish interest in the private rented sector; a targeted PRS review is to take place in September-December to identify policy options and a private housing bill is expected for the 2010/11 Holyrood session
• held successful political dinners, ostensibly on the issues of infrastructure funding, with the Scottish Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties
• supported a Labour MSP seeking to introduce ‘green' rates incentives as part of the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill; unlike the rest of the UK, Scotland is pushing ahead with regulations to enforce upgrades of the existing commercial property stock
• overcame initial official resistance to re-examining the issue of different EPCs in Scotland to the rest of the UK and have ensured official advice to ministers reflected our opposition to any form of Scotland specific eco-labelling of commercial properties
• engaged all key statutory agencies with planning reform on three occasions in Edinburgh and Glasgow at events that were very well received by members
• supported and successfully followed up on a breakfast briefing with the Scottish Finance Minister including bank, institutional investors and senior officials from across the Scottish Government's finance, housing and planning and property teams; a workshop between local authorities, the Scottish Government and the private sector on 12 August to specify some key work streams to consider ways of supporting development infrastructure investment in response to the current financial climate
• met key local government officials and councillors in relation to the tax increment financing campaign and wider planning and development agenda
• SPF members engaged in a series of planning reform roadshows organised by the Scottish Government - an attempt to ensure planning officers at the ‘coal face' are getting the message about the need for culture change in the planning service
• supported a successful Scottish Government ‘planning summit' with some 50 SPF members present out of 250 mostly public sector delegates (planning authorities, agencies)
• engaged ahead of expected moves to increase planning fees in Scotland.

Latest 2009 - spring documents:

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