Build-to-rent (BtR) homes under construction in the capital fell by 11% between the third quarter of 2023 and Q3 of 2024, dropping from 17,441 to 15,526.
Though completions rose 13% to 51,516 over the same period, the number of dwellings at planning stage stagnated, rising just 1% to 33,756. The total BtR sector pipeline grew by just 5% in London over the year.
The findings are produced in the latest Who Lives in Build-to-Rent? London report from BusinessLDN (formerly London First), the British Property Federation, PriceHubble and the Association for Rental Living.
The figures come amid a backdrop of high borrowing and delivery costs, construction skills shortages and insufficient capacity within local authority planning teams. Last summer also saw the multiple dwellings relief – a stamp duty incentive for investors acquiring several homes at once – come to an end.
Stephanie Pollitt, programme director for housing at BusinessLDN, said: “Build-to-Rent has an important role to play in tackling London’s housing crisis, so the sharp drop in homes under construction over the past year should be a cause of concern for all levels of government. The current spending review is an opportunity to ensure that the government is enabling housing developments of all types, including through a more ambitious affordable homes programme. Policymakers should also work together with the build-to-rent sector to mitigate spiralling delivery costs, ensure the right investment incentives are in place and accelerate delivery of much-vaunted planning reforms.”
Brendan Geraghty, chief executive of the Association for Rental Living, said: “We know the government’s house-building plans are ambitious, but we all must work together to change the status quo and seek to deliver. The build to rent sector has a huge volume of capital ready to be deployed and we continue to call on the government to take action to attract investment, for example by the reinstatement of multiple dwellings relief.”
