According to the English Housing Survey, in 2022-23, the private rental sector in England accounted for 4.6 million (19%) households, having doubled in size since the early 2000s and overtaken social rented housing. The previous Government focussed its attention on improving existing private rental housing stock and challenging ‘rogue landlords’ through initiatives such as the Renters Reform Bill.

Within the private rental sector sits purpose designed build-to-rent (BtR) housing, which offers a very different type of accommodation to that which the Conservatives sought to tackle. Accounting for 60,000 homes in the UK at present, but with over 110,000 more in the pipeline (1), this is a vastly growing sector with huge opportunities for both investors and renters alike. With a focus on residential experience and sustainability, BtR schemes are professionally managed, tend to be of much higher quality than alternative forms of housing and should be supported through national policy.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will probably be aware that after just 26 days in power, Labour have launched a consultation on the much-anticipated reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Whilst the standout headline from the consultation is the significant increase in housing targets, the keen eyed amongst you may have noticed a welcome introduction of paragraph 69, which references BtR in the context of mixed tenure sites:

‘Mixed tenure sites can provide a range of benefits including creating diverse communities and supporting timely build out rates and local planning authorities should support their development through their policies and decisions. Mixed tenure sites can include a mixture of ownership and rental tenures, including rented affordable housing and build to rent […]’.

The championing of mixed tenure sites is certainly welcomed, albeit greater support for BtR as a housing product on any site still appears to be lacking.

When considering where the next generation of BtR schemes may be delivered, our heads have turned to the mysterious ‘Grey Belt’. This is (vaguely) defined as areas in the Green Belt that have a limited contribution to the five Green Belt purposes. The draft revised NPPF now provides some support for development in these areas, with a preference for developing on previously developed land first, followed by Grey Belt second. The Grey Belt could present an opportunity for the delivery of single family BtR, which is more commonly associated with the urban fringes.

However, before getting too excited, paragraph 155 notes that Grey Belt developments will be subject to at least 50% affordable housing, green open space contributions and infrastructure. Viability will be challenging on sites like these, with the added complication of Annex 4 of the Draft Consultation which relates to viability on land released from the Green Belt.

The consultation on the NPPF ends on 24th September and we would urge those with an interest in housing to get involved. If you would like to get in touch with our team to discuss these matters in more detail, you can do so via the following:

Manchester@iceniprojects.com

London@iceniprojects.com

(1) Savills UK | Spotlight: Investment in Operational Multifamily