New-Build Specialists — the operational model for luxury new-build lettings in central London
Our experience managing luxury new-build apartments across central and outer London has produced a specialist operating model that generic letting agents do not have. This is the operational page for landlords with new-build instructions — whether you own one off-plan completion in zone 1 or a multi-unit holding across several developments. It is built around the five operational areas where a new-build is genuinely different from second-hand stock, and where the agent you instruct will materially affect your net return.
Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the marketing price you set on day one is, in practice, the rent that property earns for the life of the tenancy. For new-build landlords the day-one decision is harder than for landlords of established stock: comparable evidence is thin, multiple units in the same building create artificial competition, and a single pricing error compounds across a multi-unit portfolio. But pricing is only the entry point. The real differentiation sits across utility billing, snagging boundaries, compliance routines, and the tenancy architecture that determines whether communal-bill arrears actually pay out at deposit adjudication.
Why luxury new-build lettings need a different operating model
A new-build is not a second-hand flat with newer paint. The operational, commercial, statutory, and compliance considerations are different in kind, not just degree. A landlord who applies generic letting advice to a new-build portfolio will, more often than not, leave money on the table on the rent, pick up problems that an experienced new-build agent would have closed at the developer handover, and lose money at end-of-tenancy adjudication on bills that should have been recoverable.
The differences cluster into three areas.
Commercial. New-build comparables are thin or absent. A second-hand flat in Maida Vale has 15 similar listings within 500 metres going back two years. A first-let of unit 24 in a 90-unit Battersea Power Station completion has, at best, a handful of price points from the same building, all set in the same week. Add in the post-RRA bidding ban (Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.56) and the rent in advance ban (RRA s.8), and the day-one price genuinely has to be right: there is no recovery mechanism, no "list high and see who bids", no "let to a rent-in-advance international applicant at a premium" workaround.
Operational. Developer handovers, snagging schedules, NHBC and Premier Guarantee warranty interactions, communal heating systems with Heat Interface Units, Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery, comfort cooling and full HVAC, prepayment meter top-up apps, smart-home and fibre installations, block-level service charges, Section 20 major works notices, ground rent administration, and concurrent block-level lettings competition all exist on new-builds and do not exist (or look very different) on established stock.
Compliance. Three statutory frameworks layer onto the standard tenancy regime on a multi-occupied luxury new-build — the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 on fire doors, the Building Safety Act 2022 on building-level safety case duties (above 11 metres), and the forthcoming Awaab's Law (Renters' Rights Act 2025 sections 2A and 2B as amendments to Housing Act 2004) on hazard response from 2027 for the private rented sector. Each adds an inspection-and-evidence burden that doesn't apply on traditional stock. Generic letting agents don't have the procedural muscle for this. Specialist new-build agents do, because they have to.
The five operational pillars
Each section below sets out what we actually do in one of the five areas where new-build lettings diverge from established stock, with a link to the underlying detailed analysis.
Pillar 1 — First-let pricing when comparables are thin
The post-Renters' Rights Act 2025 regime makes the day-one asking rent the ceiling for the life of the tenancy. There is no bidding mechanism above asking (RRA s.56), no rent-in-advance premium workaround (RRA s.8), and limited in-tenancy uplift (RRA s.13 caps in-tenancy increases at one per 12 months, with First-tier Tribunal challenge available to the tenant). For new-build landlords this already-tight decision tightens further across three dimensions.
Compounding error across a portfolio. A landlord who owns four units in the same Battersea Power Station development and prices each one £150 per month low has not lost £150 per month . They have lost £150 × 4 × 12 = £7,200 in year one alone, and the error replicates as units re-let.
Thin comparable evidence. A first-let on a 90-unit Battersea completion has at best a handful of comparable price points from the same building, all set in the same week. No two-year history, no seasoned market evidence, no five-comparables-around-the-corner safety net. The valuation has to be done on first principles — square footage, finish quality, view, floor level, expected applicant demographic — cross-referenced against what equivalent-spec rentals in neighbouring buildings are actually clearing at, not against what they are listing at.
Block-level signalling. The first unit to let in a new building sets the floor for the rest of the block. A landlord who under-prices unit 24 has not just under-priced unit 24 . They have given the rest of the building's landlords (and any competing agents) a comparable to use against them.
Our valuation methodology is built on three years of Rightmove and Zoopla listing-and-enquiry data and a documented set of timing rules — the Four Week Rule, the August demand peak, the Monday-launch finding, the third-and-fourth-week-of-the-month enquiries data. For new-builds we cross-reference that data against the developer's pricing schedule, the equivalent-spec rentals in neighbouring buildings, and the same building's earlier completions where available. The output is a defensible asking rent we expect to clear without a bidding war — which, under the bidding ban, is now the only lawful outcome.
For the underlying methodology, see Pricing a new-build first let when comparables are thin. For the timing rules that sit underneath the valuation work, see The Four Week Rule and August best month for London rentals.
Pillar 2 — Communal utility billing without the landlord eating the cost
Most central-London luxury new-builds run on a communal heat network — a single building-level plant room produces hot water, heating, and often cooling for the entire block, distributed to each flat via a Heat Interface Unit. The flat does not have a gas boiler; there is no national-grid retail energy account for heat. The heat-network supplier contracts with the leaseholder under the head lease, not with the tenant. Many buildings also default to prepayment meters for electricity (and sometimes water), with top-ups via a building-specific app or smart card.
This produces three landlord traps that the standard letting workflow does not anticipate.
The head-lease billing trap. Essential Terms and Charges v2.1.5 §64.1 specifically flags that in some apartment blocks utility bills must remain in the landlord's name and cannot be transferred to tenants. The head lease binds the leaseholder to settle the bill and recover from the tenant separately. On a new-build heat-network supply, this is the default rather than the exception. A landlord whose previous agent advertised "all bills excluded" and assumed the tenant would have a direct supplier relationship has six months later acquired a £3,000 unpaid balance against the leaseholder's account.
The prepayment top-up trap. Tenants need to be set up with the right top-up app or card before move-in. The inventory has to capture the meter type and the opening balance. Switching options under consumer rights (ETC §64.7) are constrained by the meter type: some prepayment meters can be converted to credit meters on request, others cannot, because the building's supply arrangement is structured around the prepayment infrastructure. A generic letting agent without new-build experience doesn't know which type the building uses; the tenant runs out of credit two weeks in and rings the agent at 9pm.
The Bills Included trade-off. Goodlord Bills Included (ETC §11.5 and §65) bundles broadband, energy, water, and council tax into a single inclusive rent. It works for shorter-let single-tenant arrangements where the bills-administration overhead would otherwise be disproportionate. It works less well where the heat-network supply sits outside the bundle (Bills Included cannot replace heat-network billing) and on long-let target demographics where the bundle pushes the headline rent above market.
We coordinate utility transfers via the Goodlord change-of-occupancy platform (ETC §11.5 / §64.1), brief tenants on the building-specific top-up routes at handover, and make the Bills Included decision on the data for each instruction rather than as a default. Where the head lease forces the heat-network billing to stay with the landlord, our tenancy architecture (Pillar 5) makes the recovery work at adjudication.
For the deep-dive on the operational mechanics, see How utility management works on a London new-build.
Pillar 3 — Snagging versus maintenance, and the developer warranty line
A new-build is handed over by the developer in a moveable but not always perfect state. The boundary between what falls under the developer's snagging schedule (warranty-covered, fixable at developer cost) and what falls under the agent's ongoing maintenance procurement (landlord-cost, fixable through our contractor network under ETC §47 [REPAIR-001]) is one of the most expensive lines on a new-build instruction to get wrong.
Three things have to be done well.
Handover walkthrough and snag log. Our inventory clerk attends the developer handover where instructed. We list every defect, capture photographic evidence, log it against the NHBC two-year defects period (or the Premier Guarantee / LABC / BLP equivalent), and resolve it before the unit goes to market wherever timing allows. Where the unit needs to be let urgently, we phase the snagging works around the tenant's move-in. The New Build Handover & Key Collection service is itemised at £95 (ETC §44).
The developer-versus-agent boundary. Cracking grout in a wet-room two months after first-let is almost certainly developer-warranty work, not landlord-cost work. A scuffed skirting from the tenant's furniture two months after first-let is landlord-cost work, not developer-warranty work. Misclassifying either direction loses money: either the landlord pays for something the developer was contracted to fix, or the agent submits a warranty claim that gets rejected and the relationship with the developer's customer-care team is damaged. We hold the boundary deliberately, with photographic evidence from the handover walkthrough as the reference point.
The contractor network for the work that does fall to the landlord. When the work is landlord-cost, generic contractors don't know the building's systems. We maintain working relationships with HIU servicing engineers, MVHR installers, F-Gas certified HVAC engineers, FD30S-trained joiners (more on that in Pillar 4), and the block managing agents across every development where we have units. Specialist contractors who know the systems mobilise faster, diagnose correctly the first time, and don't make the problem worse before getting it right.
For the deep-dive on where the developer's warranty ends and ongoing maintenance begins, see The line between developer snagging and agent maintenance. For the wider procurement framework that sits underneath, see Property Management.
Pillar 4 — Specialist compliance: HIU, MVHR, HVAC, and fire doors
The luxury new-build compliance footprint is bigger than the standard Gas Safety / EICR / EPC / smoke alarm / CO alarm stack. Four additional servicing-and-inspection cycles need to be in your annual compliance calendar from day one, and three of them are statutory rather than discretionary.
Heat Interface Units. The in-flat appliance that draws heat from the communal plant room and routes it to the radiators and the hot water cylinder. Functionally equivalent to a gas boiler from the tenant's perspective; mechanically and contractually different. HIUs need servicing annually (filter changes, pressure checks, control-board diagnostic) by engineers who know the specific manufacturer ecosystem (Danfoss, Thermal Integration, Hamworthy, SAV Systems and others). Skipping the annual service is one of the cheapest false economies in new-build management. A failed HIU produces no heating, no hot water, and under Awaab's Law from 2027 a Category 1 hazard with a statutory response deadline.
Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery. Standard in new-build flats above Part L compliance at the higher level. Two filters need changing or cleaning every 6 to 12 months. Generic agents don't know the MVHR is there, don't know it needs servicing, don't have the filters in stock. The tenant complains about a "stuffy" or "dusty" flat; the landlord eventually pays for a replacement unit when the failed motor seizes. We schedule MVHR filter changes alongside the annual HIU service to amortise the contractor visit.
HVAC and comfort cooling. A growing proportion of central-London luxury apartments have full HVAC or comfort cooling. The fluorinated greenhouse gas (F-Gas) regulations require any refrigerant work to be carried out by F-Gas certified engineers. A generic local plumber cannot lawfully top up the refrigerant. A failed split system in August in a south-facing top-floor flat produces an uninhabitable tenancy under HHSRS criteria (excess heat is a Category 1 hazard); the cost of an emergency F-Gas engineer at three days' notice is several multiples of the cost of a planned annual service.
Fire doors and the post-Grenfell regulatory shift. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 made the management of fire doors in multi-occupied residential buildings a statutory duty. For the flat front door the duty sits on the leaseholder , and therefore the landlord. Quarterly inspections in blocks over 11 metres; annual inspections in blocks under 11 metres. The flat front door must be maintained to FD30S standard (30-minute fire resistance, smoke-sealed, self-closing). Replacing a damaged FD30S door is a specialist job, not a job for any joiner; getting it wrong invalidates the building's fire strategy. A generic letting agent treats the flat front door as "the tenant's door" and never inspects; the landlord remains liable. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 criminal liability attaches to failures that contribute to a fire fatality.
We bake fire door inspections, HIU servicing, MVHR filter changes, and HVAC annual maintenance into a single compliance calendar per managed unit. Clause 8.10 of our standard tenancy gives us the contractual basis for fire-door access; clause 8.9 covers HIU access (more on the clauses in Pillar 5). The annual visit is bundled where possible to amortise the contractor mobilisation cost.
For the deep-dive on the compliance regime and the contractor network, see How we manage the new-build compliance regime. For a worked example of an annual servicing quote, including the F-Gas certification and engineer-recorded detail, see What annual new-build servicing actually costs. For the wider Awaab's Law context underpinning the HIU and fire-door urgency, see Awaab's Law and the Decent Homes Standard.
Pillar 5 — The tenancy clauses 8.7 to 8.10: making deposit claims actually pay out
The default position of the deposit scheme adjudicators (TDS, MyDeposits, DPS) at end of tenancy is that unpaid utility bills are a matter between the tenant and the supplier, not deposit-claimable. The reasoning is sensible in the traditional case: the tenant has a direct contract with the supplier; if they don't pay, that's between them and the supplier; the landlord's deposit is not the recovery mechanism.
On a new-build communal-heat block, this default produces the wrong answer. The heat-network supplier contracts with the leaseholder, not the tenant. The landlord pays the heat-network provider, and the landlord has to recover from the tenant. Without the right tenancy clauses, the adjudicator applies the traditional default and the landlord loses at adjudication.
We have built four specific clauses into our standard Goodlord-templated tenancy (drafted by Spector Constant & Williams) to flip this outcome. Across the managed-block portfolio they consistently pay out where the generic-tenancy version would not. For a landlord with 5 units in a building, the difference is typically £3,000 to £10,000 per recovery cycle.
Clause 8.7 — Heating Meter, Pre-Payment, Evidence, and Refund Safeguard Clause. The communal pre-paid heating meter operates on a pre-paid basis and may go into negative; the tenant is responsible for topping up; any deficit is deductible from the security deposit. The clause acknowledges that adjudication may follow and sets out a procedural framework for cooperation on evidence — and the fairness safeguard that makes adjudicators comfortable awarding the claim when evidence is reasonable: where evidence is genuinely thin despite best efforts, the tenant is refunded.
Clause 8.8 — Heating, Hot Water, Cooling, and Utility Bills Responsibility Clause. The operational backbone. Tenant must transfer the utility account into their name from the start of the tenancy; for pre-payment, must keep the meter topped up; for post-payment, must pay all invoices in full and on time. If the tenant fails to transfer or pay and the landlord is charged, the full amount is deductible from the deposit.
Clause 8.9 — Access for Essential Heating and Hot Water Maintenance Inspections. Tenant agrees to provide access for HIU servicing. Reasonable notice; routine inspection at no cost to the tenant; if access is repeatedly denied, the landlord can recover reasonable enforcement costs. This is the operational basis for the annual HIU servicing cadence.
Clause 8.10 — Access for Fire Door Safety Inspections. Tenant agrees to provide access for periodic fire door inspections under the FSE Regs 2022. Reasonable notice; the landlord covers the cost of any required remedial work. This is the operational basis for the fire-door regime.
The clauses do not exist in the generic Assured Shorthold Tenancy or in most off-the-shelf templates. They are the product of a decade of adjudication outcomes on managed-block stock, drafted into the tenancy specifically to make recovery work.
For the worked end-of-tenancy example showing how a £600 communal-heat arrear gets recovered at adjudication step by step, see How we recover communal-bill arrears at adjudication.
How we work with new-build landlords
In practice, working with us on a new-build looks like this.
Pre-handover engagement. Where you bring us in before completion, we advise on the developer's pricing schedule (whether it stands up against market evidence), on EPC rating and the works required to push it from a B to an A where the marginal rent uplift justifies the spend, on furnishing-pack strategy, and on the realistic launch window given the Four Week Rule.
Handover and inventory. Our inventory clerk attends the developer handover walkthrough where instructed. We capture the property's condition at handover, log every snagging item, and coordinate with the developer's site team until each item is closed. The New Build Handover & Key Collection service is £95 (ETC §44).
Marketing and viewings. We list the property across Rightmove, Zoopla, and our own channels. Where the building has competing units on the market, we sequence the launch and price the unit against the building's existing comparables. First-come allocation under the bidding ban (RRA s.56); strict objective-criteria assessment under the discrimination ban (RRA Part 1 Chapter 3).
Tenancy set-up and move-in. Goodlord referencing including Right to Rent and sanctions checks, periodic assured tenancy agreement (RRA-aligned) with clauses 8.7 to 8.10 baked in, deposit registration into a government-backed scheme, prescribed-information disclosures under HA1988 and the RRA, and the building-specific utility, meter, and concierge handover briefing.
Ongoing portfolio management. Where you instruct us across multiple units, we report at portfolio level — performance against asking rent, void days, click-through rate, viewings-to-let conversion, statutory compliance status across the holding. Annual HIU servicing, MVHR filter changes, HVAC servicing, fire door inspections, and the standard Gas Safety / EICR / EPC / smoke alarm / CO alarm cycle all in one compliance calendar. Service charge, ground rent, council tax, and utility bill administration handled at £10 per payment under Full Management (ETC §44 / §64).
Block management and major works. We maintain working relationships with the block managers across the developments where we have managed units. Section 20 consultation notices are flagged on receipt; major-works supervision over the £800 threshold is itemised at 10% of works value (ETC §43).
For the full operational stack that sits behind everything above — the audit and compliance pipeline, the contractor management network, the keys logistics — see Technology and Partners. The depth-of-detail post on why we run identity, AML and licensing checks continuously rather than annually is Audit and compliance first, letting agent second.
Where to look next
The five blog posts that sit underneath this page go deep on each pillar respectively:
- What's distinct about new-build lettings in London — the anchor post, the operational overview.
- How utility management works on a London new-build — communal heating, prepayment meters, Bills Included (Pillar 2).
- The line between developer snagging and agent maintenance — warranty versus procurement scope (Pillar 3).
- Pricing a new-build first let when comparables are thin — the valuation methodology (Pillar 1).
- How we recover communal-bill arrears at adjudication — the clauses 8.7-8.10 architecture and the HIU / MVHR / HVAC / fire-door regime (Pillars 4 and 5).
For the full operational pitch and our service tiers, see the Landlords page. For ongoing managed-property operations, see Property Management. For the post-RRA regulatory framework that shapes everything above, see The Renters' Rights Act 2025. For the Awaab's Law overlay on HIU and fire-door urgency, see Awaab's Law and the Decent Homes Standard. For the legally binding agreement, see the Landlord Terms of Business. For the schedule of every payment a tenant may lawfully be required to make, see the Tenant Fees Schedule. For terminology, see the Glossary. For the complaints procedure, see the Internal Complaints Procedure.
Useful contacts and registers
- New-build instructions and valuations: 020 3865 1500, landlord@harveywjames.com
- General enquiries: info@harveywjames.com
- Aftercare, repairs, and complaints: aftercare@harveywjames.com
- Property Redress Scheme (agent redress, including Tenant Fees Act enforcement): membership PRS010914 — verify here.
- Propertymark Client Money Protection: membership M0243538 — verify here.
- Information Commissioner's Office (data protection): registration ZA312485 — verify here.
This page reflects Harvey W James' operational understanding of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the Housing Act 1988 (as amended), the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (as amended), the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (in particular Section 20 consultation requirements), the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, the Fire Safety Act 2021, the Building Safety Act 2022, and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. It is not legal advice. For the published Act text refer to legislation.gov.uk; for warranty-specific advice consult the warranty provider directly; for your specific situation seek independent legal advice. Last reviewed against Essential Terms and Charges v2.1.5 (7 May 2026) and HWJ Tenancy Special Conditions current as at May 2026.