UK: New research from the British Property Federation (BPF) and Savills shows a significant fall in new BTR homes under construction.
More than 17,000 Build-To-Rent homes were completed between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, bringing the total number of completed BTR homes to 127,150. This includes more than 55,400 homes completed in London and 71,700 across the regions, with regional growth (18 per cent) outpacing the capital (13 per cent).
However, the number of new starts has fallen behind, and for the fifth quarter in a row, completions have outstripped starts on site. This has led to a sharp 14 per cent contraction in the number of BTR homes under construction nationally. London has seen the steepest fall, down 18 per cent year-on-year to just 15,000 homes under construction, while the regions dropped by 12 per cent to 34,870.
Consented homes have risen 13 per cent over the past 12 months and the total number of homes in planning, pre-consent, has grown by five per cent to 109,920 units. However, detailed planning applications have fallen 16 per cent since last quarter, raising concerns over longer-term supply.
The slowdown in construction is at least partly caused by significant delays at the Building Safety Regulator, with a backlog at the Gateway 2 approval stage. Concerns over development viability, driven by build cost inflation and the economic climate, are also contributing to a cautious market. Taken together, these factors are slowing down delivery, as projects aren’t proceeding from outline planning through to detailed planning and ultimately into construction and delivery, says BPF.
BTR continues to expand into new markets, with 215 local authorities now including BTR in their pipeline – up from 210 last year – with the Single Family Rental (SFR) market playing a central role in this expansion, as 36,900 (13 per cent) of homes are currently under construction or in various stages of planning.
Melanie Leech, BPF chief executive, said: “Completions remain robust, and planning activity is holding up well, but the sector is facing a real bottleneck in progressing schemes through to construction. Viability challenges, coupled with continued uncertainty around project timelines are slowing momentum just at a time when rental demand is rising sharply. Investor appetite is there but unlocking it will require a concerted effort to support the delivery of BTR homes. Urgent action is needed in particular to deal with the pipeline blockage currently being caused by the Building Safety Regulator.”
“The outlook for the remainder of the Parliament could be more positive, with specific support for Build-to-Rent expected as part of the Government’s long-term housing strategy. Tackling backlogs and delays at the Building Safety Regulator, combined with planning reforms starting to bed in, could help provide more certainty around delivery. There’s no doubt that the sector’s ability to rapidly deliver high-quality, professionally managed homes will remain a vital part of the UK’s housing mix and the Government’s ambitious 1.5 million homes target.“
Guy Whittaker at Savills added: “A continued trend this quarter has been the strength of Build-to-Rent completions, which reflect the positive sentiment of two to three years ago. Sentiment has been muted more recently as it has been more difficult to make multifamily development deals stack up. There are green shoots of recovery, however. The first quarter of 2025 marked the highest Q1 for new investment since 2022, supported by over £500 million in urban multifamily forward funds, which will deliver over 1,500 homes once complete. There are significant challenges to future supply though, particularly for schemes facing building safety delays. This represents a substantial threat to current housing delivery and puts Government housing targets at risk.”
The full report can be seen here.
Highlights:
• More than 17,000 Build-To-Rent homes were completed between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, bringing the total number of completed BTR homes to 127,150.
• This includes more than 55,400 homes completed in London and 71,700 across the regions, with regional growth (18 per cent) outpacing the capital (13 per cent).
• There has been a 14 per cent contraction in the number of BTR homes under construction nationally, partly due to delays at the Gateway 2 stage of the planning process.
• BTR continues to expand into new markets, with 215 local authorities now including BTR in their pipeline.
