The British Property Federation has created a committee to promote the private rental sector to the Government, consumers and other stakeholders.

Increasing tenant choice

The move follows the news that private renting is now the second largest housing sector in England, overtaking social housing .

The aim of the committee will be to emphasise how important build-to-rent is for the Government’s plans to increase housing supply and tenant choice.

The committee will:

• push for support for the sector from local and central government

• encourage investment by creating the right conditions

• speed up delivery of build-to-rent developments

A developing sector

Strutt & Parker’s Property Futures report into build-to-rent found cost, scale and house price inflation are key in the development of the sector.

Stephanie McMahon, head of research at Strutt & Parker, said: “The UK private-rented sector is starting to build up a head of steam.

“Our research shows investors still view it as a capital growth story and an income play. They are hedging their bets as they are conscious many tenants still regard private renting as a temporary state of affairs, with the aspiration for home-ownership not likely to fall away.

“For the sector to truly work some level of intervention is needed - this could be local authority enforced covenants as opposed to full planning use change.”

Andrew Stanford, former head of the government’s Private Rented Sector Taskforce and committee chair, says build-to-rent aligns well with many of the Government’s priorities.

He says it can help deliver a supply of quality rented homes, speed up housing development, transform brownfield sites, and meet housing demand.