"Because of this strong, steady demand, investors and planning committees see BTR as a 'safe bet' and a reliable way of increasing the nation's supply of good quality rental homes"
- Sian Metcalfe - Property Inspect
New analysis from Property Inspect reveals that the UK's build-to-rent sector completed over 3,700 new units in the last quarter alone. However, with the number of units under construction falling by 12.5% on the year, questions are emerging about whether the supply pipeline is about to dry up.
Property Inspect has examined UK build-to-rent planning trend data and found that as of Q3 2025 (latest available data), there are 139,132 completed build-to-rent units across the nation. This marks a quarterly uptick of 2.7% and an annual rise of 13.6%. Such is the pace of BTR delivery that Q3 alone saw 3,718 completions.
Construction activity declining
While completions keep rising, the number of units under construction has actually started to fall. In Q3, there were an estimated 52,535 BTR units under construction, marking an annual dip of 12.5% compared to the same time last year, when there were more than 60,000 units being built.
This also marks a quarterly drop of 6.2%, which has seen the number of units under construction fall by 3,457 since Q2.
Planning pipeline remains active
This slowdown in BTR construction might not result in the pipeline drying up completely. Further analysis reveals that the UK also has 106,406 units in the planning process, marking an annual increase of 2.1% and a quarterly rise of 1.4%. In Q3 2025 alone, an estimated 1,520 BTR units entered the planning process.
"The build-to-rent sector is set to be a focal point of growth in the UK property market, and may well become a dominant force in the rental sector," said Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, operations director at Property Inspect. "It is highly desirable for tenants who continue to create strong demand for the high standard, superior experience, and ultimate flexibility that BTR offers. Because of this strong, steady demand, investors and planning committees see BTR as a 'safe bet' and a reliable way of increasing the nation's supply of good quality rental homes."
"The rise of build-to-rent does, however, present a challenge for managing agents and property managers. One of the sector's primary selling points is the higher standard of service and living it provides compared to the wider private rented market. As such, tenants come in with sky-high expectations, assuming high quality and utmost efficiency at all times - from check-in through to eventual check-out. This means managers need to make use of top-tier tenant experience, communication, and inspection tools to ensure that tenants feel well cared for at all times, and to ensure they get that feeling of 'a step above the rest' that BTR promises to deliver."
