Housing White Paper: 'Welcome recognition' for build to rent in government plans, says expert

A detailed consultation on purpose build to rent, published alongside the white paper, "shows that the government is giving serious thought to build to rent, which may finally see it established in the UK as a mainstream housing product", according to housing law expert Reza Newton of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.

The white paper sets out the government's "bold new plans to fix the broken housing market" in England, and to build more homes. The average house now costs an all-time record of eight times more than average earnings, while the proportion of people living in private rented accommodation has doubled since 2000, according to government figures.

Among the proposals published for the government for consultation are changes to planning rules which would allow developers to include more affordable properties for rent as part of their affordable housing commitments. It defines 'affordable rent' as at least 20% below the market rate. The government also plans to encourage the availability of longer-term tenancies of three years or more in private rented schemes, so that families in rented accommodation have more stability.

"The government has identified the same barriers to 'build to rent' as Sadiq Khan did last year in his draft 'Homes for Londoners' affordable housing and viability SPG - such as its unique viability and delivery pressures; and the need for a new affordable housing tenure specific to build to rent, so-called 'affordable private rent' in the white paper and 'discounted market rent' in the mayor's SPG," he said. "Hopefully we will see a consistent approach between the government and the Greater London Authority on policy."

"By not being minded to stipulate a minimum covenant period for build to rent to remain as rented housing, and by seeking the industry's views on minimum scheme size, for instance, the government has recognised that the build to rent market does, and will continue to, vary across the UK. While something may be appropriate in London, this won't necessarily be the case in Birmingham – which again is different from Liverpool. It is vital that planning policy and controls are sufficiently flexible going forwards to allow this product to establish itself," he said.