Some 45% of local authorities across the UK have build-to-rent developments featuring as part of their housing supply, according to fresh research from the British Property Federation.
The percentage is a new high across the UK’s councils and up from 37% at Q2 2021.
The figure is just one of a handful of statistics that underline the growth of the sector in the UK.
The BPF’s figures show the total number of homes completed, under construction or in planning up is by 13% year-on-year to 237,000. The analysis, conducted at the end of the second quarter in collaboration with Savills, showed a 16% increase in the number of completed homes to 73,739, with a 13% increase in those under construction (to 47,764) and 10% increase in homes in planning (to 115,859).
The figures also show the expansion of the BTR sector across the UK, with the total number of homes completed or in the pipeline in regional cities up by 16% year-on-year versus 8% in London.
Single-family BTR is now the fastest-growing sub-sector over the past 12 months, with a 44% increase in the number of homes in the pipeline (21,000).
Ian Fletcher, director of real estate policy at the BPF, said: “Our analysis for the second quarter of the year further underlines just how rapidly the UK build-to-rent sector is expanding.
“We can see a broader spread and increased presence of BTR across the country, with more local authorities including it in local plans and considering it a vital component of future housing supply. This shows the market maturing beyond London and major regional city centres to towns and suburban locations and BTR becoming very much part of a more diverse and future-proof UK housing market.”
Jacqui Daly, director of residential investment research at Savills, added: “We continue to see strong demand for build-to-rent from investors that are paying competitively for stock against deep occupier demand in a chronically undersupplied private rented sector.
“The opportunity for developers and investors in single-family build-to-rent is being increasingly widely recognised, with this the fastest growing sub-sector over the past year, with a 44% uplift in the number of homes in the pipeline.”
Half-year figures from a number of agents are already predicting record volumes of investment into the sector in 2022, with some £1.7bn transacted so far. Both Knight Frank and CBRE expect totals to exceed 2021’s record £4.4bn this year.
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