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UK: The build-to-rent (BTR) sector has delivered an average of 61 per cent of new homes built across eight of the UK’s leading regeneration areas over the past decade, according to new research from NRLA Living and Bidwells.
The report, published following the launch of NRLA Living last week, focuses on eight BTR-led projects across the UK to assess what impact the market more broadly has had on local demographics, employment, local incomes and rent levels.
The research finds that in Stratford in London and Redcliff in Bristol, BTR accounted for 87 per cent of all homes built over the last 10 years. In Milton Keynes Central, that figure reached 73 per cent and Blackhorse Lane in in Waltham Forest, London, 66 per cent.
The findings show clearly that BTR neighbourhoods act as “anchor tenants” to regeneration schemes by placing new residents on the ground at an early stage. It also demonstrates how BTR can be a driving force behind the emergence of mixed-use neighbourhoods – a process which greatly assists local businesses, such as cafés, bars and restaurants.
The report also indicates how locations which have a higher Build to Rent presence have witnessed higher levels of population growth. BTR has been particularly successful at attracting on average five times the number of 20-39 year olds into new regeneration areas compared with other local authority areas.
The report’s release coincided with an NRLA Living launch event in which leading institutional leaders in the BTR market gathered to debate the future of residential investment and operations in the sector. The event saw keynote speaker and leading government adviser on housing reform Kunle Barker provide his perspective on the housing policy landscape.
The NRLA took the opportunity to launch new research from Bidwells which drills down into the unique impact which the BTR sector has on the delivery of UK housing.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “We believe that Build to Rent makes – and can continue to make – a valuable contribution to the UK’s supply of housing, alongside traditional buy to let (BTL). These research findings demonstrate that housing delivery can only happen at scale if the Government takes steps to ensure investment is encouraged rather than stifled. Crucially we believe that a thriving BTR market must complement a growing BTL sector if the UK is ever going to meet its ambitious housing objectives. Without a bold vision which attaches an equal level of importance to both sectors, the Government will simply fail to solve the UK’s housing crisis.”
Iain Murray, partner and head of operational living at Bidwells, added: “Build to Rent is usually judged on the number of homes it delivers, but this research shows its impact runs wider than that. Across the schemes we examined, BTR has acted as the catalyst for regeneration, putting people on site early, giving local businesses the footfall they need to establish themselves and drawing younger working-age households into areas that had previously struggled to attract them. That evidence matters now because capital is being committed to operational living in a far more complex regulatory and fiscal environment than five years ago. Investment decisions of this scale should rest on data, and this report gives investors, local authorities and government a clearer basis on which to judge where BTR sits in the housing mix.”
Highlights:
- The build-to-rent (BTR) sector has delivered an average of 61 per cent of new homes built across eight of the UK’s leading regeneration areas over the past decade, according to new research from NRLA Living and Bidwells
- The report, published following the launch of NRLA Living last week, focuses on eight BTR-led projects across the UK to assess what impact the market more broadly has had on local demographics, employment, local incomes and rent levels
- The research finds that in Stratford in London and Redcliff in Bristol, BTR accounted for 87 per cent of all homes built over the last 10 years
- The findings show clearly that BTR neighbourhoods act as “anchor tenants” to regeneration schemes by placing new residents on the ground at an early stage
