Living Sector

The Living sector is evolving rapidly, shaped by demographic change, urban regeneration and increasingly demanding sustainability objectives. If you are developing, managing or investing in housing, you are likely balancing regulatory pressure, funding constraints and delivery risk at the same time, and this means an overall growth in complexity, including when it comes to meeting ESG objectives, responding to planning risk and evolving funding models. Our role is to help you stay ahead of these pressures, navigate them with confidence and to deliver homes that meet long-term community needs.

How do we achieve this?  Devonshires has advised clients in this space since 1990. Working with the broad range of parties operating in the Living sector, including Built to Rent operators, Single Family Rental, Later Living, Student Accommodation, Affordable Housing and Co-Living,  we bring a deep sector knowledge and commercial insight to help you make informed decisions across structuring and development, housing management and compliance. We work alongside operators and housing providers, owners, developers, asset managers, investors local authorities and other key stakeholders at critical points in a project’s lifecycle, from early structuring through to long-term operation. 

We work alongside housing providers, developers and investors at critical points in a project’s lifecycle, from early structuring through to long-term operation. The sector faces growing complexity, including ESG obligations, planning risk and evolving funding models. Our role is to help you stay ahead of these pressures, navigate regulation with confidence and deliver homes that meet long-term community needs.

The Living sector presents a distinct set of legal and operational challenges. Clients typically come to us when they need clear direction on:

• Funding and investment structuring for living projects
• Planning and development risk management
• Fire safety and building safety reforms
• Regulatory change and governance
• ESG and sustainability compliance
• Tenancy enforcement and possession claims
• Anti-social behaviour and nuisance
• Disrepair and property condition disputes
• Tenancy fraud
• Leasehold and freehold disputes
• Access and safety compliance
• Boundary and right of way issues
• Judicial Review and regulatory challenges

Why Choose Devonshires for Living Sector Legal Services?

Trusted expertise – We advise Build to Rent operators, Single Family Housing platforms, more than 200 Registered Providers (including G15 members), as well as local authorities and developers. Our housing lawyers integrate seamlessly with in-house teams, providing day-to-day support while retaining sight of wider strategic objectives.

An integrated approach – Living sector projects rarely sit within a single discipline. Our lawyers and specialist teams work closely across real estate, construction, finance and governance, ensuring advice is coordinated from planning through to delivery and beyond.

Future-focused advice – We anticipate regulatory and market change so you do not have to react under pressure. Our advice helps clients respond confidently to evolving funding structures, compliance requirements and operational risk across the Living sector.

Many clients treat us as an extension of their internal legal function. We support them through:

• Day-to-day legal support, including drafting policies and procedures
• Strategic advice
• Training and seminars
• Advice surgeries and legal updates focused on live and emerging issues

Our Experience

Our experience across the Living sector includes:

• Build to Rent, including Single-Family and Multi-Family housing, advising on development, funding and management arrangements
• Student accommodation, including structuring projects and resolving disputes across operational, funding and regulatory issues
• Later Living and Care, supporting complex joint ventures and compliance requirements
• Affordable housing, advising on governance, funding and tenancy management

We work closely with colleagues across related practice areas, including real estate, construction, corporate, governance, property litigation, data protection and UK GDPR compliance, sustainability and decarbonisation to ensure clients receive a cohesive and seamless service.