Investments
Landlord News
August 12, 2015 | Landlord News
Research by Savills estimates that build to rent, with full policy support, could generate over £30 billion of new investment into the UK over the next five years, delivering over 150,000 homes.
A report from law firm Addleshaw Goddard and the British Property Federation, discussing the need for homes built specifically for rent, says that good design will be a key to its success, focusing building layouts on lifestyle and fostering communities. The idea, says Russell Pedley, director of Assael Architecture, is to “design homes where renters will feel they are living in the whole building and not just their private dwelling.â€
It argues that there will be many benefits to the built to rent sector for both renters and investors. Tenants will have a greater choice of accommodation in a professionalised rental market, it says, as different providers will create homes at a variety of price-points, allowing for higher quality housing at lower costs.
Marnix Elsenaar, head of housing at Addleshaw Goddard, said: “Build to rent has the potential to vastly improve standards, thus reducing complaints and regulation costs; it has the potential to regenerate challenging areas; and, above all, to deliver additional supply above and beyond what traditional housebuilding can offer.â€
With an estimated 16,000 build to rent homes in the pipeline, it’s not about to solve the housing crisis by itself, but with support from the government and institutional investors, as well as an increasing number of people who prefer the renting lifestyle to home ownership, the sector has the potential to grow very large, very quickly.