Members

Lobbying and public affairs:

• members don't have to hire their own lobbying or public affairs consultants - we can do it much more effectively for a fraction of the price
• we can get easier access to ministers and shadow teams to put their points across
• we have the full weight of the industry behind us rather than being seen to represent a single company or issue.

Immediate knowledge:

• because we constantly monitor what's going on in government and with regulators, our members can be kept fully up to date with news and developments
• we provide regular conferences and occasional seminars to home in on particular issues
• our experts are on hand to give instant answers to questions.

Financial advantage/protection:

• we encouraged the government to introduce real estate investment trusts - saving property companies hundreds of millions in tax liabilities
• we persuaded the government not to ban upward only rent reviews and to allow the industry to regulate its own relations with tenants
• we have achieved VAT and SDLT concessions and continue to work for a more equitable tax system
• we achieved a concession on empty property rates for smaller rented properties.

Planning protection:

• we persuaded the government to drop its proposals for a planning gain supplement and to replace it with a tariff based system - community infrastructure levy
• we are working with the government in its modernisation of the planning system to try to come up with something that is better, and works.

Climate change commitments:

• we are working with the government to ensure its various energy performance and climate change legislation is framed in a way that will work, and achieve the desired benefits
• we are working with other parts of the industry to develop a set of agreed measurement and reporting standards for the UK
• we are working with similar organisations in other parts of the world to develop internationally agreed measurement and reporting standards.

Image development:

• most of our campaigns depend on large amounts of data, case studies and spokespeople from our member companies to bring the issues to life
• by providing the input we need, members can gain prominent, high quality media coverage
• this is often better than they would have achieved by hiring a costly PR agency or issuing the information themselves.
  

Image protection:

• we can, and do, build the image of the industry as a whole, drawing attention to the good things that the industry is doing
• because we represent the industry as a whole, we can gain media coverage in a way that individual companies would find difficult
• we can be proactive on issues that listed companies could find difficult to raise.

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Credit crunch assistance:

• they are working with our property owning members to understand the property implications of the current recession and credit crunch
• together they are working with the Bank of England and HM Treasury to bring greater mutual understanding and to avoid a collapse in the property market.

Political inside knowledge:

• they gain information on upcoming legislation and regulations that might have financial implications and can plan for it
• they get to know what political parties are planning.

Potential clients:

• because we've got the UK's biggest property companies, institutions and fund managers as members, they can gain access to the top people in these companies
• they can find out what's happening in the market and where new funds may be required.

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Using expertise:

• many of our professional firms members are the most active people on our committees and working groups, providing us with their time and expertise
• much of our lobbying work involves the sort of technical expertise that only experts in our member companies will have
• we also depend on our professional firms members to disseminate best practice to their clients.

Providing media input:

• most of our media campaigns need data, case studies and spokespeople to bring the issues alive - we depend on our members to provide us with this information
• professional firms get the reflected glory when their clients feature in the coverage we achieve.

Inside knowledge:

• they get the most up to date information, news and developments on legislation and regulations that they can use and pass on to their clients
• if they are involved with our committees, working groups or issues networks, they will have the opportunity to work at the cutting face of our lobbying work - giving them a professional edge against the competition.

Potential clients:

• they get the chance to meet the top people in our member companies, many of whom are potential clients
• they may have the opportunity to work with such people on our committees or working groups
• they can host our events and seminars in their head offices - an opportunity to build their profiles.

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Property owning companies:

• are subject to many of the same pressures as property companies, but as it's not their main business they don't have the same time or resources available
• they are also tenants of many of our members, so can bring a different perspective to many aspects of our work
• see the benefits for property owners, above, for more examples.

Housing associations:

• in recent years we have attracted many of the country's biggest housing associations as members, so we provide a major voice for them
• they benefit from the lobbying we have traditionally done on behalf of our private residential sector members
• they gain inside knowledge on legislative and regulatory information, news and developments that will affect them
• they get access to our wider membership, and many useful contacts.

Residential landlords:

• many regional residential landlords associations, and the Residential Landlords Association itself, are affiliated to us
• they gain from belonging to a bigger, more powerful organisation with access to the key parts of government

• they benefit from the lobbying we have traditionally done on behalf of our larger private residential sector members
• they gain inside knowledge on legislative and regulatory information, news and developments that will affect them
• they get access to our wider membership, and many useful contacts.

Insurance companies:

• have a valuable input into our lobbying work on the aspects of insurance that particularly affect our property company members
• gain inside knowledge on legislative and regulatory information, news and developments that will affect them and their clients
• gain access to a pool of potential clients.

Other companies:

• gain inside knowledge on legislative and regulatory information, news and developments that will affect their clients
• gain access to a pool of potential clients.

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