Moda Living joins forces with Uber to cut car ownership

Moda Living has announced a tie-up with Uber to change the way people rent their homes

The prop-tech tie-up will offer tenants up to £100 worth of Uber credits per month if they agree not to have a car parking space in the building.

Using Moda Living’s app, residents will press a button and get a ride.

The Harrogate-based company is backed by £1bn of investment from Middle Eastern-based Apache Capital Partners and is developing 6,000 rental-only homes in major cities across England and Scotland, including 705 apartments at Quarry Hill in Leeds.

The prop-tech partnership is likely to be rolled out in cities across the world.

By partnering with Uber, Moda Living is hoping to create more sustainable developments as city leaders tackle the challenge of building millions of homes while also reducing emissions.

Moda Living’s developments will be located in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, and Birmingham, all cities where Uber operates. Its first scheme, Angel Gardens in Manchester, is currently under construction and will house close to 900 residents when it completes in 2019.

Gareth Lewis, UK real estate director at PwC, said: “Moda Living’s tie-up with Uber is a great example of an innovative approach by a property business that capitalises on both advances in tech and the growing relevance of the sharing economy. Encouraging alternatives to car-ownership is essential to improving the liveability of cities, and partnerships like this will undoubtedly raise the level of debate around alternative uses for the significant amount of space currently dedicated to car parking.”

Moda Living’s buildings are created only for rent, and include shared areas that mimic a hotel.

The company plans to offer renters an app to connect with each other, control heating and entertainment, as well as order food and other services, such as booking a ride through Uber.

Jo Bertram, regional general manager of Uber in the UK, said: “Cars are one of the most expensive assets most people own, but they’re used just five per cent of the time.

“Our mission is for everybody to have a reliable ride at the touch of a button so they don’t need their own car.”