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by Brendan Geraghty, CEO, ºÚÁÏרÇø
UKREiiF gives us the stage; what we do with it is up to us.

UKREiiF 2026 brings together, in Leeds from 19–21 May, the people who shape whether housing gets delivered: investors, local authorities, policymakers, developers and operators. Its framing – investment, regeneration, affordable housing, sustainable and inclusive growth – is exactly right for Build to Rent (BTR). And the event itself is delivering the stage from which real change can happen. The question is whether we, as a sector, are prepared to use it.

Let’s use the platform that UKREiiF uniquely provides.  It would be easy for us all to have discussions where we broadly agree and re-hash familiar headlines; to socialise, network and hold interesting conversations.  But the real opportunity at UKREiiF is to challenge and set out solutions.

The case for professionally managed rental housing has already been made. Demand is there, investor interest is there, the national need for more homes is beyond dispute. What’s missing is not recognition, it’s action and action requires everyone coming to UKREiiF – every speaker, every exhibitor, every delegate – to arrive with a clear purpose: to ask and answer the hard questions, to seek solutions, and to set out how to achieve outcomes.

The hard questions are well known. Planning delays, viability pressures, infrastructure constraints, and a persistent lack of policy certainty continue to slow delivery. Capital is there, but it’s more disciplined, more selective and more focused on confidence in the pipeline. That’s not a weakness in the market; it’s a sign of maturity. The right discussion at UKREiiF isn’t whether BTR sounds attractive in principle, but rather what makes schemes investable in practice: operational performance, affordability, demand resilience, and delivery certainty. Investors making 30-year commitments need to understand the direction of travel and they deserve frank, evidence-based conversation from the experts in the pavilion, those on the ground, delivering homes day in, day out.

The same applies to the relationship between BTR and local and regional government. The future of rental living won’t be unlocked by capital alone; it’ll be unlocked by confidence, trust and partnership at the place level. Councils and combined authorities are not on the edge of this conversation; they are central to it. If BTR is going to support housing growth and regeneration in a meaningful way, it must be understood not as an asset class but as part of a placemaking and delivery strategy. And that understanding must be built in the room, through genuine dialogue and engaging presentations.

The ARL has worked hard to put rental living at the heart of the UKREiiF agenda. Our programme spans the Housing Development Summit and the Housed Shared Living Summit, and it’s designed to do exactly what I’m calling for here: to move beyond visibility and into substance. That includes an invitation-only local authority and investor roundtable chaired by the ARL on trust and partnership in BTR delivery; a panel session examining whether the shared rented living sectors can genuinely help solve the housing crisis; a session on the growing weight of regulation and politics on rental living; a discussion testing whether sustainability, EDI and social impact still drive performance in a shifting global context; and a session exploring subscription living and what the shift from ownership to access means for affordability, ESG and urban planning.

UKREiiF 2026 will also see the launch of the Rental Living Code of Practice and Customer Charter. Developed by the ARL and supported by the BTR Alliance, this is a foundational Code that sets out the standards and quality the professionally managed rental sector operates to. It’s not a marketing exercise but a tangible, sector-led commitment to credibility – the kind of initiative that demonstrates the sector is serious about earning trust, not just requesting it.

But none of this delivers outcomes on its own, the sector itself must show up with discipline and collective leadership. That means arriving with data, not just decks, presenting evidence on performance, supply chain capacity, environmental impact and resident outcomes that can withstand scrutiny. It means being prepared to challenge and be challenged and it means speaking with one voice on the issues that matter through bodies such as the ARL rather than fragmenting into competing narratives.

We’re no longer a niche part of the market asking to be notice, we’re an established and increasingly important part of the UK housing system. The UK’s housing crisis is not a problem of ambition, there’s no shortage of targets, strategies or stated intent. What’s missing is the connective tissue between policy, capital and delivery; UKREiiF gives us the platform and the audience, the responsibility for using it well rests with every one of us in that room.

So come to Leeds with clear purpose. Come prepared to shape the future of rental living: to build the certainty that unlocks investment and the trust that unlocks partnership with government. Come to ask the hard questions and to commit to answers.

What BTR needs from everyone engaged in BTR at UKREiiF 2026 is simple: more substance; less rhetoric, more delivery; less noise, more leadership.

To view the ARL programme at UKREiiF click here.