Moda Living ties up with Uber in ‘first of its kind’ proptech venture

Yorkshire’s Moda Living, the build to rent firm, has announced a “first of its kind” tie up with Uber which will offer tenants up to £100 Uber credits per month if they agree not to have a car parking space.

The prop-tech deal aims to cut car ownership and change the way people rent homes across the UK’s largest cities.

Using Moda Living’s bespoke app, residents will simply press a button and get a ride.

Moda Living is backed by £1bn of investment from Middle Eastern-based Apache Capital Partners and is developing 6,000 rental-only homes in major cities across England and Scotland.

It said the prop-tech partnership is likely to be rolled out in cities across the world, and that by partnering with Uber it is hoping to create more sustainable developments as city leaders tackle the challenge of building millions of homes while also reducing emissions.

Moda Living said its developments will be located in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, and Birmingham, all cities where Uber operates.

Its first scheme, Angel Gardens in Manchester’s NOMA neighbourhood, is currently under construction and will house close to 900 residents when it completes in 2019.

Jo Bertram, regional general manager of Uber in the UK, said: “Cars are one of the most expensive assets most people own, but they’re used just five per cent of the time. Our mission is for everybody to have a reliable ride at the touch of a button so they don’t need their own car. These plans for what will be a unique partnership with Moda Living is a big step forward in making that a reality. By getting more people to ditch their own vehicles we can put some of the space wasted on parking to much better use. And with more people using car sharing options like UberPOOL we can reduce congestion and emissions too.”

Johnny Caddick, managing director of Moda Living, said: “Our apartments are for rent rather than for sale so we need to consider how our customers will live in cities in the future. Embracing future technology is vital from day one and these plans for a partnership with Uber would not only give our customers an affordable ride at the touch of a button – it would also enable us to design better buildings with more space for social interaction. Everyone wants a more frictionless life and Uber’s model fully aligns with our approach of wanting to drive efficiency and maximise value for our customers.”