Build To Rent total ‘built and planned’ surges to 180,000

New figures show a 30 per cent rise in the past year in the number of Build To Rent units planned, under construction or completed.

The British Property Federation and Savills produce an annual audit of the sector and its latest figures show 117,893 BTR units across all stages of the development lifecycle, compared to 90,761 at this time last year. 

When looking specifically at the number of completed BTR homes, the total has increased by 45 per cent, growing from 14,371 to 20,863, in the same period.

This figure is even higher for the number of BTR homes under construction, which has increased by 47 per cent.

For the first time, included in the total figures for 'in planning', the research has tracked the capacity of strategic sites across the country identified for build-to-rent. 

A total of 17,578 homes have been earmarked by local authorities and developers for delivery on these sites.

London has 82 per cent of the units currently planned, under construction or built.

“The development pipeline is growing strongly at both ends. The number of homes completed and under construction has risen by 46 per cent in the past year alone, and the pre-planning pipeline is growing quickly” says Jacqui Daly, director of Savills residential investment research and strategy.

“There is now real momentum in the sector, having received a significant boost in the draft revised National Planning Policy Framework, which officially recognised the importance of build to rent in bringing forward new homes and the need to define sites to ensure delivery. At this rate of growth, we expect that the build to rent pipeline could double to around 200,000 within the next two years” she adds.