UK: Build-to-rent (BTR) completions have increased nearly 16 per cent over the past year, but construction activity is slowing across the sector.
Analysis by proptech provider Inventory Base of UK BTR planning data shows that completions rose by 15.8 per cent between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025.
In total, 127,156 BTR homes had been completed by the end of Q1 2025, compared with 109,847 a year earlier. However, the number of BTR units under construction dropped by 14 per cent during the same period. Planning data reflects a similar trend. The number of homes reaching the Detailed Application stage declined by 11.8 per cent, from 22,187 in Q1 2024 to 19,558 in Q1 2025.
However, the volume of BTR homes in the Detailed Permissions phase grew by 11.8 per cent year-on-year. In addition, there was a 6.6 per cent rise in homes in the Long-Term Planning phase.
Siân Hemming-Metcalfe, Inventory Base operations director said: “ The build-to-rent sector represents one of the most significant evolutions that residential property has seen in an awfully long time. So while completion numbers have dipped over the past year, the continued tenant demand, as well as the UK government’s push to deliver an enormous number of new homes, we fully expect delivery to reach new heights in the coming years, especially in cities and other densely populated areas of the country.”
Highlights:
• UK BTR completions have increased while construction activity has slowed
• Planning data reflects the detailed application stage declined 11.8 per cent
• The volume of BTR homes in the detailed permissions phase has grown 11.8 per cent
year-on-year
