UK: Representative from the build-to-rent (BTR) industry have joined forces, forming an alliance with the aim of expediting delivery of BTR homes.
It will include representation by the British Property Federation (BPF) and the Association for Rental Living (ARL) among other industry experts.
Their initial focus will be advocating for policy and regulatory challenges to improve investor confidence and tackle delivery challenges, while improving consumer experience and perceptions of BTR.
They plan to achieve this through the adoption of a new consumer code.
The BTR Alliance has been formed as new analysis from the BPF and Savills show that completions for new BTR developments continued to outpace starts for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Additionally, the number of new BTR schemes in planning has dropped 18 per cent since the first quarter, bringing the pipeline of new BTR homes in planning on a year-to-date basis to a low of 5,000.
Melanie Leech, CEO at the BPF said: “BTR has been the major success story of housing delivery over the last decade but is under increasing pressure from a combination of economic and policy factors.
“It is now clear that planning reform is not enough, and we need to see real action to address viability challenges and allow the sector to reach its full potential.
“A key focus of the Alliance will be to elevate awareness of the importance of the sector with policymakers and ensure that policy and regulatory conditions facilitate delivery of much-needed BTR homes.”
Brendan Geraghty, CEO at ARL, said: “The creation of the new Alliance comes at a pivotal time for the BTR sector. Against a backdrop of increased delivery challenges the need to speak with one sector voice has never been more paramount.”
This comes after BPF and ARL announced the creation of a BTR Taskforce at the beginning of the year, to support the growth of the BTR and SFR sectors across the UK.
Highlights:
- A new BTR Alliance launched to accelerate delivery of build-to-rent homes in the UK.
- It includes the British Property Federation, Association for Rental Living, and industry experts.
- The Alliance will focus on policy reform, regulatory challenges, and improving investor confidence.
