Here, kitty! BTR attracting more and more frustrated pet-owning tenants

Growing numbers of tenants are opting to live in build-to-rent (BTR) homes because many of these developments welcome their pet, according to new research.

Build-to-rent furniture provider Manor Interiors found that pet-friendly homes were the most common feature in BTR developments on the market, with 47% of them promoting pet friendliness.

The firm believes their popularity is a direct response to the increasing frustration felt by tenants towards private landlords who haven’t adapted to their increasing desire to rent with dogs and cats.

After pet friendly, the second most common BTR feature is car parking – shared by 40% of the developments currently being advertised – while 33% of developments come with an on-site concierge, perhaps due to increasing demand from tenants wanting to ensure their online shopping can be safely and reliably received, says the firm.

Pet features

Also on the list of popular features is free Wi-Fi for all tenants (27%), residents’ lounge or other shared communal socialising space (26%), on-site gym (20%), communal garden space (12%), allowing tenants to move in without requiring them to pay a deposit (11%), and roof terrace (7%).

Manor Interiors CEO Farhan Malik (pictured) says its research of 103 build-to-rent developments helps explain why tenants are increasingly drawn towards them. He believes the attraction is also a result of the poor standards and inflexibility common among private landlords.

Adds Malik: “It’s clear that the build to rent industry has listened to these renter frustrations and responded by ensuring that their developments cater to the evolving expectations and needs. We see this in the fact that nearly half of build to rent developments are pet friendly, an increasingly common renter demand that private landlords have long refused to engage with.”

Pic credit: Quintain Living.