Build-to-rent starts fell by almost 8,000 homes across the UK in the year to September, even as completions rose 21%. Developers completed 21,979 purpose-built rental homes in the period, according to Savills research for Real Estate, yet construction began on only 4,696, down from 12,674 a year earlier. Home-moving platform Moving Compared analysed the figures to see where construction is slowing fastest.
Build-to-rent starts fall furthest outside London
Build-to-rent construction dropped 78% outside the capital, against 63% across the UK. The slowdown could mean fewer new developments for renters to choose from in the years ahead. Those counting on a particular scheme can check whether work has started before timing a move around its advertised opening date.
London is also affected, with the number of build-to-rent homes already under construction in the capital down 28% year on year. For households hoping to stay in the same neighbourhood, the asking rent on a comparable home available today offers a firmer figure to budget against while a new development is awaited.
Funding conditions vary by city. Royal London agreed to fund 173 rental flats in Newton Heath, Manchester, in the third quarter of 2026, while Savills reported that funding for city-centre schemes remained difficult to secure. Anyone weighing a city-centre tenancy against a move further out should factor in the cost of getting to work alongside the monthly rent.
Birmingham was the exception among England’s largest cities in the three months to August, with Savills finding that a plentiful supply of rental homes helped limit rent increases. Households still building a deposit may want to check what another year of renting locally would leave them able to save.
Renters considering a first purchase can make the decision more concrete by comparing two similar homes in the same area. Setting the rent on one against the mortgage payments and upkeep on the other shows how much in savings would remain after the deposit, legal fees and moving costs.
