Discover the latest trends disrupting the multifamily industry. Explore cutting-edge technology innovations such as smart home solutions and AI-powered leasing that will shape the future of apartments in 2022.
The Emergence of AI-Powered Virtual Assistants: Revolutionizing Technology Interaction
Discover the transformative power of AI-powered virtual assistants in our latest blog post. From Siri to Alexa, we explore their rising popularity and game-changing capabilities within the world of technology.
What To Do About the New Multifamily Cable Changes Before 9/26
Note: The analysis of the FCC ruling in this article is for informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with legal counsel before taking any actions based on the analysis in this article.
This article was written to accompany the What Multifamily Leaders Need to Know About the FCC Broadband Ruling event. It is available to watch for free with the rest of our on-demand multifamily events tackling industry problems through our Events page..
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) made a ruling on February 15, 2022 that changes the landscape of how telecom agreements are arranged with multifamily apartments. The FCC made this decision with the goal of increasing competition in multifamily units for residents. These begin enforcement on September 26th, 2022.
It’s worth remembering that not all of these are new laws. Some are updated interpretations of existing regulations. As a result, these will affect past and future agreements instead of only newly made agreements.
These are based around changes regarding exclusive marketing agreements, tiered revenue shares, and the “Sale and Leaseback” components of some agreements.
Exclusive Marketing Disclosures
Although the FCC does not straight-out ban exclusive marketing agreements, the service provider is now required to notify all current and prospective residents of any such agreement.
Service providers have discretion on how to communicate the details of what this means, but the notices will be included on all marketing materials. Building owners lose any opportunity to influence this if exclusive marketing is part of the agreement.
This does not require immediate action from the property owner or operator, but it is still in the best interest of the owner to rework these agreements as soon as possible into non-exclusive marketing. Very few residents are likely to be happy to hear about any exclusive marketing agreements.
However, not all providers are concerned about how this affects the building owners’ relationships with the residents. The building owners’ relationship with the service provider is the critical reason why service providers may want to renegotiate these agreements to remove this risk from the building owner.
Tiered Revenue Shares
Since the FCC rulings in 2007, multifamily properties have not been able to enter into telecom agreements that include a restriction that prevents other providers from entering a property, previously referred to as “exclusive access” agreements.
With the new 2022 ruling, the FCC found that the “tiered revenue share” model had a very similar effect to the no-longer-permissible “exclusive access” agreements.
Also known as “penetration-based” models, this is when the revenue share paid to owners will change based on the percentage of available residents that service provider has as subscribers. That percentage is known as the “penetration rate”.
Properties should attempt to renegotiate these tiered revenue share models immediately. Service providers are already making decisions regarding if they will pay any revenue share at all, or if they will offer a flat percentage of revenue share regardless of penetration rates on a property-by-property basis.
Waiting for each service provider to tell the building owner what they will pay is not a great idea because the owner does not have any opportunity to argue for better terms. According to the FCC, the provider has no obligation to pay any future tiered revenue share after the changes.
There are strategies that the top telecom negotiators use to encourage renegotiation from reluctant providers. Some of these are difficult to utilize, so it’s highly recommended to talk to an expert to get a better deal.
This directly affects the property owner. Any agreements that include this style of revenue share will need to be reworked or else the property may no longer receive this revenue.
Sale and Leaseback
“Sale and leaseback” arrangements were not permitted under the 2007 FCC rulings. Unfortunately, there is significant debate within the FCC legal community regarding if this restatement of the FCC’s 2007 ruling will have any significant impact.
It is similar to a parent telling a child, “I told you to clean your room. Please do it!” This will probably only be determined as a result of future court cases, so don’t be that owner.
Like the decision on tiered revenue share agreements, this will directly affect the property owner. Any agreements that include this type of stipulation will need to be reworked promptly. Fortunately, most agreements done since 2007 with any major national service provider are unlikely to be a major threat.
Even so, check with a specialist who understands the wiring infrastructure in the exact building. This is a bad time to presume knowledge without a specialist reviewing the agreement and the wiring.
Moving Forward
The deadline to take action on the ruling is September 26th, 2022. That’s only a short time to get critical changes done to important contracts. It’s worth noting that these rulings currently only affect television and telephone contracts, though it’s likely that similar changes will target internet service providers in the future.
As of the writing of this article, service providers nationwide have already been sending change proposals or notices of stopping revenue share payments. Likewise, building owners should expect to see letters to residents in August and September if they have an exclusive marketing agreement so that providers can claim compliance by delivering notices prior to the September 26, 2022 deadline.
The easy way to deal with this is to let the telecom companies contact you and then accept whatever changes they send your way, perhaps with some slight bargaining.
In the end, this route could be leaving tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table and have your residents believe the building’s ownership didn’t care about the services available to residents. This makes now the perfect time to completely renegotiate your contract terms.
For any questions, watch the FCC Changes Q&A meeting we hosted with Mark Weaver, as well as our What Multifamily Leaders Need to Know About the FCC Broadband Ruling on-demand event.
Discussed questions include how the ruling affects bulk services, how to add new providers, how to negotiate high-quality contracts with small properties, and many more.
Have the Experts Negotiate for You
Our client, the Cable Contract Negotiation Group (CCNG), negotiates the best of internet, cable, and telecom agreements. They’re led by Mark Weaver, a telecom industry insider who knows exactly how far providers are willing to go and capitalizes on it in the best way possible for multifamily owners and operators.
Standard real estate lawyers are out of their element in this. They don’t handle this every day. Expert telecom negotiators are the best option for multifamily properties who want to take advantage of these changes, getting better terms compared to even the top 20 national multifamily companies.
Reach your NOI goals and provide better services for your residents.
Leverage Your Multifamily Business Model to Improve a Resident’s Life
Nice Healthcare gives residents access to cost-effective healthcare right in their apartment.
In this episode, we sit down with John Young, who is the Senior Vice President of Growth at Nice Healthcare, and Kelly Krasner, the Vice President of Growth.
Multifamily Innovation® Advisory Council Turns Industry Blind Spots into Breakthrough Innovations Through Collaboration
Multifamily Innovation® Advisory Council Turns Industry Blind Spots into Breakthrough Innovations Through Collaboration
SCOTTSDALE, AZ – The Multifamily Innovation® Advisory Council announced today its formal launch with approximately 1.5 million apartment units being represented. The council is on track to grow to north of 3 million units by end of year, with a focus of being the catalyst for innovation, through delivering insight to leaders across the industry.
The Multifamily Innovation® Advisory Council is led by Chairman Patrick Antrim, Founder and CEO of Multifamily Leadership, a media and events platform providing streaming content around technology, innovation, leadership, and investing. Antrim is an industry professional and producer of the highest-level events in the multifamily apartment industry, through their podcast network, conferences, and annual summits.
Serving as Chair of Technology Initiatives for the Multifamily Innovation® Advisory Council is technologist Kerry W. Kirby, Founder and CEO of 365 Connect®, a leading provider of automated marketing, leasing, and engagement platforms for the multifamily housing industry. Kirby is an accomplished entrepreneur, innovator, and industry influencer. He holds 95 technology awards, has presented in over 150 webcast reaching over one-million listeners from around the world, and is changing the way we think about the convergence of technology in the rental housing market.
Antrim and Kirby have built their careers collaborating with leaders in the multifamily space, and have been extracting the perspectives from investors, developers, and operators or more than 20 years. They have been meeting in individual and small group gatherings over that past two years to discuss a variety of topics, from shifting consumer expectations, reimagining the role of our workforce, and analyzing the way next-generation renters can be accommodated.
Daryl Smith, Chief Marketing Officer for Kettler stated, “The Multifamily Innovation® Council is a diverse group of intra-disciplinary professionals obsessed with a vision for innovation that will inspire the next generation of multifamily operations and leaders. I am extremely excited to participate, the discussions are timely and strategic, while inspiring me to imagine the calculus of innovation and its impact on our consumers and operations.”
Members of the Multifamily Innovation® Advisory Council gain access to a diverse group of high-level multifamily owners and operators, where ideas are exchanged about deploying and using different types of technology, without investing valuable resources into a venture capital fund. Working together to identify opportunities and navigate obstacles, members openly share their experience in finding solutions that are the proper fit for their operations.
Mike Brewer, Chief Operating Officer at RADCO Residential added, “The Multifamily Innovation® Council allows me to see the signal in the noise. Gone are the days when I must sit through endless sales pitches without understanding which technologies truly meet the needs of my business. The council takes the hard work out of making informed business decisions.”
The private invitation only group of council members attend weekly meetings to openly discuss real-world experiences related to utilizing technology across their communities. The members are void of any vendor influences and sales pitches to allow them to freely think through challenges they had or are having in deploying technology, as well as finding quality solutions for their operations. Council members also meet in-person annually at the Multifamily Innovation® Summit to join panel discussions, as well as celebrate the Best Places to Work Multifamily®.
Kim Boland, Director of Digital Marketing at Morgan Properties stated, “The Multifamily Innovation® Council allows me to not feel alone when evaluating and implementing new programs. They help me realize that other people are having similar experiences. Listening to feedback from other operators and seeing how they have planned, tackled, and succeeded in rolling out technology programs allows me to know that challenges are normal, and success is possible.”
Membership to the Multifamily Innovation® Council is by application only. Those applying must be with a firm that owns or manages a minimum of 1,500 apartment units. To learn about membership opportunities, visit MultifamilyInnovation.com
ABOUT MULTIFAMILY INNOVATION® COUNCIL: The Multifamily Innovation® Council is a private, members only group focused on assisting owners and operators of multifamily communities by reducing risks associated with vetting new technologies and implementations. Through leveraging the knowledge and creativity of people within the organization, emerging digital transformation can be explored and accelerated. For more information visit MultifamilyInnovation.com
A Technology That Helps Identify Quality Leads and Convert More Rentals
Today’s renter wants control over the leasing process and access to information wherever, whenever, but today’s leasing team simply can’t keep up. On this episode, Patrick Antrim and Robert Turnbull explore Multifamily’s most adopted digital leasing solution providing renters the information they want 24/7/365 anywhere on the Internet.
It’s Not About Bringing New Technology to the Game, Let’s Change the Game
The multifamily industry is changing, and it’s important to change with it. To do that, you should keep an eye on the way society is changing as a whole, the differences between generations, and the types of things people are already interested in.
Investments at Different Stages of the Apartment Lifecycle
Real estate is a unique industry that faces unique challenges. When you seek out new technology, you should be careful about the investment. Tom Spahn talks about what to look for in the investments and commitments you make, how to know whether that product will be a good fit for your company long-term, and how to spot a truly great team.
Create an Experience Residents Never Want to Leave
Right now, Daryl Smith is working to create a fully-integrated omni-channel marketing platform, while also growing the name for his multifamily development plan. He is reimagining the Multifamily consumer experience.
COVID Driven Risk Management featuring Rachael Kish
Rachel Kish has been busy through the pandemic. She says she’s working on growing her team while focusing on acquisitions for Asset Living, all on top of dealing with things like evictions. Kish joined the Shelton Residential team in 2017, and Asset Living acquired that company in 2020.