hereSAY’s Build-to-Rent (BTR) Mystery Shopping Benchmark Report has revealed that although the developments still present high-quality amenities, apartments and communal areas, a drop in customer service at the enquiry and viewing stage could damage the reputation of the BTR brands in the long term.

The professional mystery shopper team contacted and visited 50 BTR developments between October 2022 and February 2023 and 68% of shoppers rated their experience of contacting the scheme and attempting to book a viewing as ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ and 28% of shoppers received no response to their enquiry. In contrast, the presentation of the apartments, amenities and communal areas was the highest rated part of the experience, scoring 88% - an 11 percentage point increase from the 2021 benchmark.

Debra Yudolph, partner at hereSAY, commented: “Five years ago, the BTR market had to work hard for its residents, as such the customer service and attention to detail was exemplary. With the ‘race to rent’ demand far exceeding supply, people have less ability to shop around, so the BTR sector hasn’t had to work as hard and unfortunately, we have seen a significant dip in customer service at the enquiry stage.”