"Build-to-rent is making a critical contribution to housing across the UK and our latest research shows that it provides new high-quality homes that appeal to a wide demographic of people"
- Melanie Leech - British Property Federation
Build-to-rent (BtR) is increasingly appealing to a broader demographic of renters, including those on middle incomes, as new analysis shows the sector closely mirrors the wider private rented sector (PRS) in affordability and tenant profiles.
A new report by the British Property Federation (BPF), the Association for Rental Living (ARL), and PriceHubble, based on data from over 48,600 renters across 174 UK developments, suggests BtR is successfully delivering mixed-income rental communities while also catering to demand across age and income brackets.
The research is part of the fifth annual Who Lives in Build to Rent? report and represents the most extensive dataset of its kind for the sector.
The analysis includes over 36,600 renters in 26,454 homes across 97 multifamily housing (MFH) developments, as well as nearly 10,000 residents across 77 single-family housing (SFH) schemes.
Affordability remains broadly in line with national benchmarks. Rent accounts for around 30% of household income in BtR, consistent with accepted affordability levels and similar to spending patterns in the PRS. For couples and sharers, rent takes up 28.5% of income compared with 26.6% in the PRS. For families, the figures are 31% and 28.9% respectively, while single renters pay 33% in BtR and 31.4% in the PRS.
BtR developments often offer added value through onsite amenities, which are typically included within the rent. For example, 60% of BtR sites feature a gym or wellbeing centre, 29% provide fitness studios, and 70% offer coworking or meeting spaces.
These are facilities that renters in the PRS often pay for separately. In light of continued cost-of-living pressures, amenities combined with features such as zero-deposit schemes and inclusive utility bills make BtR an attractive option for many renters.
The report also highlights income trends across BtR and PRS. The most common income band for BtR tenants remains £26,000–£50,000, representing 43% of residents. In comparison, 45% of PRS renters fall into this bracket.
However, the most common income band in the PRS is slightly lower at £19,000–£25,000. Incomes between both sectors remain broadly aligned, with notable differences between BtR subtypes. Among SFH renters, 76% earn below £38,000, compared with 61% in the PRS and 38% in BtR overall. The most frequent income range for SFH renters is £19,000–£25,999, in line with the PRS.
The BtR sector also reflects similar age patterns to the wider market. The 25–34 age group, an increasingly economically significant segment, represents 51% of BtR renters and 42% of those in the PRS. BtR is also particularly popular with couples and sharers, who make up 60% of its renters compared with 43% in the PRS. Within SFH, 38% of residents are families.
“Build-to-rent is making a critical contribution to housing across the UK and our latest research shows that it provides new high-quality homes that appeal to a wide demographic of people,” said Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation. “The rental market is continuing to be squeezed by policy and legislative changes, which the latest delivery figures show is having an impact, and without the supply of new homes from institutionally backed build-to-rent developers, rental costs will continue to rise."
"It is essential that the UK living sector is seen as an attractive investment option, as build-to-rent homes will be a vital part of delivering the Government’s ambitious housing targets.”
“This latest report reinforces the consistency of BTR to deliver attractive, secure homes for renter demographics that mirror the wider PRS,” explained Brendan Geraghty, chief executive of the Association for Rental Living (ARL). “Looking ahead to the next 5 years and beyond, we would like to see the sector develop to make BTR even more accessible to more renters, across all demographics in the UK.”
Julia Middleton, real estate economist at PriceHubble, commented, “The insights from this data are becoming more and more meaningful, both in the longer time frame it covers and the scale. We’ve been analysing this data for over 5 years, and it now covers close to 33,000 units housing over 48,000 renters.
“A theme this year is how the BTR sector is becoming more diversified, there are a range of schemes from high-end with a high amenity offer through to more affordable schemes with less of an amenity focus. The geographic profile is becoming much more diverse, too. Much of the data shows a consistent trend through time, one of these consistent messages is that renters on middle incomes mirror the proportion in the wider Private Rental sector.”
“The build-to-rent sector has an essential role to play in helping to tackle London’s acute housing crisis,” noted Stephanie Pollitt, programme director, housing at BusinessLDN. “These new figures show that this part of the market has broad appeal to Londoners across many different demographics and income levels."
"Following welcome steps to boost housebuilding in the Spending Review, it’s now vital that we build on this progress and tackle blockages, including the Building Safety Regulator’s gateway process, so that we can accelerate delivery of build-to-rent schemes and other tenures.”
