Quality of service creating a new way of living for UK suburban family renters

Having joined the market-leading single family rental brand earlier this year, Sarah Nelson, Operations Director at Casa by Moda, she explains why the brand puts customer service at the heart of its neighbourhoods.

As consumers, good service is something we expect from restaurants, stores and other service providers. In fact, every time we interact with a brand, we do so expecting a good experience. So why then should we expect anything less from landlords and in the homes we rent? 

This is the approach adopted in the exciting and growing build-to-rent (BTR) market in city centres, which has set a benchmark for offering homes as a service. These developments often offer more than just an apartment, and in the case of Moda’s neighbourhoods include access to inclusive 24/7 gyms, private dining and cinema rooms, on-site concierges and even special car sharing arrangements. 

Quality BTR operators know that customer service is the key to keeping residents happy and, as a result, they’re likely to remain living there for the long-term. 

However, this provides a marked contrast to the traditional suburban buy-to-let homes market, which has been dominated by private landlords who haven’t needed to offer more than bricks and mortar, due to demand outstripping supply.

This is where we see an opportunity to disrupt and transform the sector through the rapidly emerging single family homes (SFH) market. These are purpose built, professionally managed, family homes for rent that Savills estimates will grow to over 30,000 homes in operation by 2027.

At Casa by Moda, we develop neighbourhoods for the long term through a focus on what’s important to people: technology, location, sustainability and community. Key to supporting all of these is the outstanding service we offer our residents, a concept we call ‘A new way of living’.

We believe that customer service is, and will increasingly be, crucial to attracting residents, but more importantly keeping them happy and staying for longer in our neighbourhoods. In fact, with long-term renting becoming more a lifestyle choice, we are determined to set the benchmark for customer service in the fast-growing SFH market.

We’re doing this in a number of ways, but one is to provide residents with greater control and personalisation over their homes and home environment. Technology is key to helping us achieve this. Our MyCasa app has been designed to not just connect residents to their homes’ smart sensors, providing data on everything from room temperature to air quality, but also to our operations team allowing for maintenance issues to be raised 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But it goes much further than this, better connecting our residents to their local community and neighbours by also allowing them to help organise and facilitate social events and clubs, alongside accessing local services, taking the stress out of everyday activities. We even qualify potential service providers such as dog walkers, window cleaners and gardeners before making them available to book via the app, so our residents know they have dependable local contacts for whatever they need.

This commitment to customer service means we are also always looking to innovate, which has led to the creation of our bespoke, modern furniture packs. Casa homes are unfurnished as standard, so should our new residents want the added convenience of a furnished property, as seen in our show homes, we can provide them with everything they need to fill their home with quality, stylish furniture ranges without the added hassle.

We believe this approach, the result of listening to what consumers want and need, and our experience in the BTR sector, allows us to design and develop homes that modern-day families deserve for a modern living experience. By offering our residents outstanding service, better resident benefits and long-term peace of mind, ultimately, that’s what makes Casa by Moda neighbourhoods the top choice for next generation rental living across the UK.

To find out more about Casa by Moda, visit casa.moda