Buy to Let Set for Change as Build to Rent Corporates Move in

According to research, build-to-rent corporates are about to make a massive dent in buy-to-let. 

Although private landlords hold the keys to around 5 million homes, build-to-rent is picking up pace and is expected to surge from a £24 billion market in 2017 to be worth £70 billion or more by 2022. 

At the same time, the number of homes to rent is likely to rise to 5.8 million – around 24% of all UK homes. Corporate investors will boom because the government is creating a climate for them to prosper, says the Multihousing 2017 report from property firm Knight Frank. 

Funding and planning restrictions are relaxed for build to rent, while private landlords face a harsher tax regime that is likely to see many leave the market. 

The report also captures financial and personal information about private tenants. Affordability is the main factor influencing a choice of home, with 63% of tenants concerned about their budgets as rent accounts for 40% of income for just over half of them. The other significant influences on choosing a home to rent are location (24%) and property size (8%). 

When considering where to live, tenants look at transport links (35%), how far away friends and relatives live (8%), nearby green space (4%) and schools (4%). 

The statistics also disclosed more than half of tenants live within  a 30 minute trip to work – with just 7% living an hour away from the workplace. 

Almost a third of tenants rent because they cannot afford to put down a deposit on a home of their own (30%). But 21% say they rent as they can live in an area they could not afford to buy in, 18% cannot afford a mortgage, and 8% do not want to take on the responsibility of owning a home.

"Younger workers especially are taking advantage of the increased flexibility of renting as a tenure which allows moving between locations without any of the costs associated with buying or selling a property," says the report. 

"Affordability constraints in the sales market are also curtailing some tenants’ plans for house purchase, resulting in a longer stay in the private rented sector as they save for a deposit."