The British Property
Federation (BPF) has published its first set of annual data on the
build-to-rent sector’s growth, which shows the total number of build-to-rent
homes complete, under construction and in planning across the UK has increased
by 30 per cent in the past year.
To aid transparency
on the sector and its growth, the research has been produced by Savills,
commissioned by the BPF, and is published quarterly as an interactive map on
the BPF’s website.
In the UK there are
now 117,893 build-to-rent homes – new, high-quality and professionally-managed
homes built for renters – across all stages of the development lifecycle,
compared to the total of 90,761 homes at the end of Q1 2017.
When looking
specifically at the number of completed build-to-rent homes, the total has
increased by 45 per cent, growing from 14,371 to 20,863, in the same period.
This figure is even
higher for the number of build-to-rent homes under construction, which has
increased by 47 per cent.
For the first time,
included in the total figures for 'in planning', the research has tracked the
capacity of strategic sites across the country identified for build-to-rent. A
total of 17,578 homes have been earmarked by local authorities and developers
for delivery on these sites.
The number of homes
provided by the Build-to-Rent sector continues to grow in both London and the
regions.
The regions,
however, now have a significant lead over London in greenlighting developments,
with 62 per cent of all build-to-rent homes under construction.
Outside London, the
North West leads with the highest volume of build-to-rent homes complete, under
construction and in planning.
The build-to-rent
sector can revolutionise the rental market in the UK. It is funded and managed
by investors who require long-term rental growth for pensioners’ savings, which
means its business model is fundamentally dependent on ensuring its customers’
experience of renting is an enjoyable one, and the sector becomes one in which
customers are happy to stay if they wish.
On 5 March 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 already committed to
offering this, a promise to ensure more stability and predictability when
renting.
As build-to-rent
continues to grow, it has also been able to diversify its offer – with 17 per
cent of schemes in the pipeline including houses, rather than just typical
high-rise apartments.
Ian Fletcher,
Director of Real Estate Policy, British Property Federation comments: “The
build-to-rent sector is evolving quickly, with significant delivery in the
regions and more houses, rather than just apartments, coming forward. Policy is
also adapting, as to date the sector has grown without a planning blueprint.
This is now changing. With the draft revised National Planning Policy
Framework, local authorities will now have to specifically identify how many
new rental homes their respective areas need. This has never before been
enshrined in UK planning policy.
“Clearly, there are
exemplar local authorities across the UK leading the charge, giving
build-to-rent a chance to expand in the regions and demonstrate that it can
cater for a wider range of people. The sector, however, has significant
potential to deliver more professionally-managed homes for all renters seeking
higher quality service and facilities.”
