Increase in of build-to-rent homes

The total number of build-to-rent homes under construction across the UK has increased by nearly 40 percent, according to the British Property Federation (BPF).

Research carried out for the organisation by Savills shows there are now 139,508 new high-quality, professionally-managed homes built for renters in the UK.

Of these, 29,416 are complete, 43,374 under construction and 66,718 in planning.

The findings follow a year of new housing policy from the government, including a revised National Planning Policy Framework.

This now references build-to-rent specifically, to provide guidance for local authorities when dealing with planning applications from the sector.

For the first time, the total number of completed build-to-rent homes across the UK regions has caught up with the total in London, with 14,615 completed homes in the regions and 14,801 in the capital.

As build-to-rent continues to grow, it has also been able to diversify its offer, with 15 per cent of schemes in the pipeline, including houses, rather than just typical high-rise apartments.

In 2018, the Prime Minister Theresa May called for the entire private rental sector, including both the buy-to-let and build-to-rent sectors, to provide longer term “family-friendly” tenancies.

The build-to-rent sector has committed to offering this to ensure more stability and predictability when renting.

Ian Fletcher, director of real estate policy at the BPF says: “With the revised National Planning Policy Framework asking local authorities to identify how many new rental homes their respective areas need, the future should remain bright for build-to-rent.

“This has never before been enshrined in UK planning policy and will only add to the growing number of local authorities that are seeing the benefits of build-to-rent in adding much-needed housing supply across the UK.”