Could ‘Build to Rent’ homes kill the private landlord?

As a rising tide of private landlords say they will sell up, the UK has an influx of American-style purpose-built, professionally managed rental homes, according to new research.

Analysis by Savills for the British Property Federation (BPF) found that the number of ‘build-to-rent’ (BTR) homes has hugely increased, with 150,000 BTR homes in planning, under construction or completed.

The 51% surge in completed BTR rental homes is clear in key regional cities –Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow and Sheffield lead the way. Typically, the apartment blocks offer hotel-style concierge and on-site management plus shared amenity spaces such as a gym or residents’ lounge.

There are now more completed BTR homes across the UK’s regions than there are in London – however, the capital has more BTR homes under development.  152,071 BTR homes are at various stages of completion in the UK. Of these, 40,181 are complete; 35,415 are under construction and 75,475are  in planning – an increase of 15 per cent over last year.

Richard Jackson, MD of Apache Capital Partners, which has a £2bn BTR pipeline with Moda Living, said, “Given the wider investment landscape and the state of the traditional UK private rented sector, it’s no surprise that build-to-rent attracts interest from investors and consumers. The under-performance of traditional investments such as sovereign bonds has encouraged institutional investors to look at emerging asset classes like BTR for long-term steady income streams to match their liabilities, while the poor quality of accommodation and service that many renters receive from private landlords mean a purpose-built, professionally managed offer like what we’re providing through our partnership with Moda Living is highly appealing.”

Franz Doerr, Founder and CEO of deposit alternative provider flatfair, said, “These figures show the demand for professionally managed rental housing that makes the entire experience seamless. As people rent for longer periods there will be an increased focus on service – Build to Rent leads the way. As more units come online, service will be the differentiating factor between developments, and those that embrace the tech solutions that make things easier for tenants will thrive.”