The Build-to-Rent (BTR) sector has suffered recently as completions outnumber starts for the sixth quarter in a row in Q2 2025
The Alliance, formed by the British Property Federation (BPF) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), has highlighted that the sector is slowing down due to policy and regulatory issues holding new schemes back and reducing investor confidence.
Delays caused by the Building Safety Regulator
The BPF and Savills have analysed data and found that the number of new schemes in planning has dropped by 18% since Q1 2025, meaning the pipeline of new homes in planning is at a meagre 5,000 in this year-to-date.
More specifically, London has seen a 16% growth in planning schemes, but across regions, there is no growth, indicating that planning reforms so far have not had as significant an impact as developers would like.
Figures for Q2 2025 also show that the delays caused by the Building Safety Regulator are particularly impacting the BTR sector in England. When coupled with viability challenges, these issues are having a negative impact on investment sentiment.
The Build-to-Rent Alliance is working to combat these issues
The focus of the alliance is primarily on advocating for policy and regulatory changes to improve investor confidence and tackling the current viability and delivery challenges.
It will also work on improving the consumer experience and perception of BTR in the wider private rented sector through adopting a new Consumer Code.
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “The formation of the BTR Alliance comes at a critical time for the Build to Rent sector. Build to Rent 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.
“This is now the sixth consecutive quarter where completions have outpaced starts, and the number of schemes in planning has fallen. 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 Build to Rent home.”
Brendan Geraghty, chief executive of The Association of Rental Living, said: “The creation of the new Alliance comes at a pivotal time for the Build to Rent sector. Against a backdrop of increased delivery challenges the need to speak with one sector voice has never been more paramount.
“But nor has the need to ensure that the benefits of BTR are conveyed far and wide, including how it can act as a catalyst for town centre renewal and support a growing economy. Nor should we forget about our most importance audience, the very people who choose to live in BTR. It is for that reason a central pillar of the Alliance’s work will to establish and promote a new Consumer Code to continue to make BTR for first housing choice for many.”
The alliance will work to raise awareness among local authorities of the benefits of BTR.
