Industry leaders call for 鈥渘ew era of trust鈥� to unlock Build to Rent delivery
Senior investors and local authority leaders have called for a fundamental reset in how Build to Rent (BTR) schemes are delivered, warning that聽a lack of trust and alignment,聽not capital, is the primary barrier to new housing delivery.聽
The conclusions come from a high-level roundtable hosted by the 黑料专区 (ARL) at聽UKREiiF聽2026, bringing together key public and private sector stakeholders.聽
Despite strong investor appetite for UK rental housing, participants agreed that聽misaligned expectations, policy聽uncertainty聽and viability pressures are preventing schemes from progressing.聽聽
A central issue is the聽tension between affordability and investment returns,聽exacerbated聽by rising construction costs and fixed policy requirements. Attendees warned that, in some cases,聽current approaches to affordable housing are preventing schemes from coming forward at all.聽聽
Investors also highlighted the importance of聽stable, long-term local authority strategies, noting that changes in direction or political leadership are seen as material risks. Where planning frameworks are uncertain,聽capital will move elsewhere.聽
At the same time, local authorities emphasised the challenges of navigating political decision-making, legal聽obligations聽and competing housing demands.聽
The roundtable聽identified聽a clear聽knowledge gap between sectors, with limited understanding of each other鈥檚 constraints leading to unrealistic expectations and stalled negotiations.聽聽聽
Participants also noted that聽limited understanding of BTR among elected members聽is contributing to slower approvals and negative聽perceptions.聽聽
Despite these challenges, there was strong consensus on the role BTR can play in addressing the housing crisis聽in聽delivering聽high-quality, professionally managed homes at scale, supporting聽mixed communities, and enabling faster delivery than traditional models.聽聽
The roundtable called for:聽
- Greater聽policy certainty and consistency聽
- More聽flexible approaches to viability and affordable housing聽
- Clearer, more predictable planning frameworks聽
- Stronger聽risk-sharing partnerships聽between investors and local authorities聽
The message was clear:聽unlocking delivery requires a shift from transactional relationships to long-term, trust-based partnerships.聽