At this year’s HomeViews Resident Choice Awards, Moda Living achieved an outstanding seven awards, including the coveted title of Large Operator of the Year.
Following the awards, Hannah Marsh, Co-founder of HomeViews, sat down with Richard Smith, Managing Director of Moda Living, to discuss their success, commitment to customer service, and what’s next for the brand.
Hannah: Congratulations to the whole team at Moda Living for this incredible achievement. Winning seven awards, including Large Operator of the Year, is a remarkable recognition of your work. What does this mean to your team?
Richard: Thank you, Hannah. This recognition means a lot to us. At Moda Living, customer service is at the heart of everything we do, and these awards are a testament to the hard work, dedication, and passion of our entire team. Every single member of staff plays a role in creating the best possible living experience for our residents, so to receive this level of recognition from those very residents is incredibly rewarding.
Hannah: We know how important resident feedback is in the Build to Rent sector. In 2024, HomeViews collected 8,001 reviews, with an impressive 6,293 (or 79%) of them verified. You also underwent additional spot checks to ensure accuracy. What has been your approach to review collection?
Richard: Transparency is key, which is why we take a consistent, year-round approach to gathering resident feedback. We actively encourage reviews at all times, not just at key moments like move-in or renewal. You’ll see reminders across our buildings including in our lifts and at concierge desks. Our goal is to create an open feedback culture, where residents feel empowered to share their experiences whenever they choose. That’s why I believe our HomeViews ratings provide an honest and authentic reflection of life in a Moda Living community.
Hannah: Moda Living achieved a Customer Service score of 4.89 for 2024. How do you maintain such consistently high standards across all your developments?
Richard: A huge part of this comes down to the Moda Academy, which we launched a year ago. Every single team member goes through our bespoke training programme, ensuring they’re fully qualified in delivering what we believe to be the highest levels of customer service in the sector. This helps us guarantee that no matter which Moda Living development someone moves into, they receive the same exceptional experience. The recognition we received at the HomeViews Resident Choice Awards is a fantastic endorsement of the standards we’ve set and the hard work of our teams.
Hannah: Moda Living is now able to showcase HomeViews reviews and ratings on your Built for Renters listings on Rightmove. What impact do you think this will have on the wider Build to Rent sector?
Richard: One of the biggest challenges in Build to Rent has always been awareness and education. Many renters still don’t fully understand what BTR is, or how it differs from traditional rental properties. Having resident reviews and real-life experiences on the UK’s largest property platform gives prospective renters trust, transparency, and confidence in what BTR has to offer. It’s not just about Moda; it’s about raising the profile of the sector as a whole and making high-quality, service-led rental communities the standard.
Hannah: Finally, what’s next for Moda Living?
Richard: Great question, at Moda we are constantly considering new ways to move the rental experience forward, clearly AI will drive a fundamental change in our industry, we have been working on some new market leading ideas by using Technology, for example we will be testing AI developed robots to deliver an enhanced level of service for our residents for apartment delivery of their Uber Eats/Deliveroo etc – this sounds really easy, but trust me we have been developing this concept for the past year, but we ar enow almost there, so watch this Moda Space!
