Research from the British Property Federation (BPF) and Savills projects that the number of completed Build to Rent (BTR) homes could increase five-fold to reach 380,000 by 2032, with the sector then being worth £170bn.

The projection, undertaken in partnership with BTR providers Get Living and M&G, estimates that by 2032, 8% of UK homes for rent will be purpose-built, up from 1.5% today.  The analysis predicts a continued evolution in the market, with single-family homes making up almost a fifth (18%) of BTR stock in 10 years’ time compared to 12% today.

The new analysis has been undertaken to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the Montague Review, a report commissioned in 2012 by then Housing Minister Grant Shapps to remove the barriers to long-term institutional investment into purpose-designed homes for rent.

The Montague Review is widely acknowledged to have marked the birth of the modern BTR sector. The Olympic Village in Stratford, which was designed as temporary accommodation for athletes competing at the 2012 London Olympic Games, became the UK’s pilot BTR scheme once converted into professionally managed rented accommodation. Now known as East Village it is owned and operated by Get Living and home to 7,000 residents.

A decade later, as at Q3 2022, £30bn has been invested into the BTR sector, delivering 76,800 completed homes and a further 163,400 in the planning and delivery pipeline. While the sector still represents a small proportion of new housing delivery, the BPF says that BTR is growing rapidly with the number of completed BTR homes increasing by 14% year-on-year in Q3 2022.