"The contribution that build-to-rent makes to the overall housing mix is essential to meeting demand, with 8% of the 210,000 homes delivered last year purpose-built for rent"
- Danny Pinder - British Property Federation
Securing planning consent for build-to-rent homes in London now takes an average of 15 months, double the time it did six years ago and 150% longer than the statutory time limit for major applications. Research from the British Property Federation (BPF) and Savills shows a similar slowdown across the rest of the country, where applications are taking up to 14 months to determine.
The number of build-to-rent homes under construction has now fallen for the ninth consecutive quarter, down 17% nationally year on year from 59,874 to 49,984. In London, the drop is sharper still, falling 29% from 17,138 to 12,134, reflecting the ongoing impact of delays at the Building Safety Regulator on the wider construction industry.
Despite the delivery squeeze, the pipeline shows some growth. Homes in planning have risen 2% nationally and 6% in London, from 36,559 in Q1 2025 to 41,968 in Q1 2026. The number of schemes at the detailed application stage has, however, fallen 17% since the previous quarter, suggesting near-term delivery remains under pressure.
Build-to-rent now accounts for 8% of all new homes delivered across the UK, a contribution the BPF describes as vital given the ongoing strain on rental supply. Scheme sizes are growing in response to viability challenges and building safety regulations, with 80% of the pipeline now comprising schemes of more than 100 homes.
Across the 1,002 completed schemes, the average development size was 147 homes, while schemes currently in planning average 295 homes, reflecting the impact of incoming second staircase legislation and rising land costs.
"The contribution that build-to-rent makes to the overall housing mix is essential to meeting demand, with 8% of the 210,000 homes delivered last year purpose-built for rent," said Danny Pinder, director at the British Property Federation.
"Despite this, the rental market continues to come under intense pressure, with supply constrained and development challenging — exacerbated by entirely avoidable impacts of the incoming Renters' Rights Act and renewed discussion of rent controls.
"The steady increase in the time it takes to determine applications reflects poorly on the planning system, with schemes on average taking 150% longer than the statutory requirement. Planning reforms to date have been helpful, but they are not sufficient to turn the tide on development. We need to see the Government go further to reform tax barriers to new homes, and ensure that the increasing costs of construction are offset by a reduction in Section 106 and CIL requirements."
The BPF argues that incoming planning reform and revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework could help streamline decision-making, but warns that a gap between proposed changes and implementation is delaying planning decisions and holding back new homes delivery. The federation estimates 3,000 additional planners are needed to boost capacity, alongside rigorous but deliverable local plans.
"With the UK facing a housing shortage, build-to-rent is playing an increasingly important role in boosting overall supply, now accounting for close to one in ten new homes delivered," said Jacqui Daly, director of residential research at Savills.
"The sector has demonstrated its ability to adapt in the face of rising costs, tighter regulation and viability pressures, but continued delays across planning and the building safety regime are holding back delivery. If build-to-rent is to realise its full potential as a scalable and reliable source of new homes, it needs a more supportive operating environment, one that improves planning efficiency, provides regulatory certainty and enables schemes to progress quicker from consent to construction."
