Build to rent means homes built to be rented out, not sold, and run by a single landlord, usually with on-site management. London had 64,724 completed build-to-rent homes in the second quarter of 2026, about 41% of the UK’s 156,688, according to the Real Estate:UK and Savills Build-to-Rent Report, Q2 2026. That is still only around 5% to 6% of the 1.1 to 1.2 million London households who rent privately (an FTR London calculation from the English Housing Survey 2024-25, which puts the figure at 1.1 million but says the fall from 1.2 million a year earlier is not statistically significant), and new building has slowed sharply: 1,279 homes were started in London in the 12 months to June 2026, down from 2,741 a year earlier.
For renters, the bigger change came on 1 May 2026. The long fixed terms and formula-linked yearly rent rises that set London build to rent apart are no longer possible for private assured tenancies in England, because the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 made every new private tenancy periodic. What still distinguishes a build-to-rent flat is how it is run and what the rent includes, and that is what this guide helps you compare.
What counts as build to rent
The government’s planning definition is ‘purpose built housing that is typically 100% rented out’, usually ‘professionally managed stock in single ownership and management control’ (National Planning Policy Framework, August 2026, Annex B: Glossary). In London, the Mayor’s London Plan sets a stricter test in Policy H11 (London Plan 2021). Among its conditions:
- at least 50 homes, held as build to rent under a covenant for at least 15 years;
- every home self-contained and let separately, with the market and discounted homes under one owner and one manager;
- on-site management, a complaints procedure and membership of an ombudsman scheme;
- no upfront fees other than deposits and rent in advance;
- tenancies of three years or more for anyone who wants one, with rises set by a formula.
In London, a build-to-rent scheme’s affordable homes can all be Discounted Market Rent, which the London Plan says should preferably be at London Living Rent level. For homes let in 2026-27 London Living Rent is capped at £1,750 a month, for households earning up to £75,000 (GLA, London Living Rent benchmarks 2026-27).
How much build to rent London has, and why it is slowing
| Measure | Q2 2025 | Q2 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completed homes | 58,824 | 64,724 | +10% |
| Under construction | 17,264 | 12,643 | −27% |
| In planning | 39,833 | 41,204 | +3% |
| Homes started in the previous 12 months | 2,741 | 1,279 | −53% |
The completed total keeps rising because schemes started years ago are still finishing. Behind them, the number of homes under construction is shrinking, which means fewer new blocks opening over the next few years, even though slightly more homes are in planning. Across the UK, starts fell 79% to 3,455 in the year to June 2026, and completions have outnumbered starts for ten consecutive quarters. The report says investor sentiment ‘remains fragile’ and that a Real Estate:UK member survey suggests stricter rent controls could lead to ‘a rapid contraction’ in building.
That matters beyond build to rent. The same report estimates that England’s private rented sector has shrunk by 4.2%, about 200,000 homes, since October 2022, as buy-to-let landlords sold. Build to rent is not yet large enough to replace them.
What changed on 1 May 2026
Two of the London Plan’s conditions, three-year tenancies and rent rises set by a formula, were the legal core of build to rent’s pitch to renters. Since 1 May 2026 neither is possible for a private tenancy in England (GOV.UK, Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for tenants):
- new tenancies have no fixed term, and any end date in an agreement has no effect;
- rent review clauses, including fixed-percentage or inflation-linked rises, no longer work; every rise uses Form 4A, at most once a year and not in the first year, with two months’ notice, and you can challenge it at a tribunal that cannot set a higher rent than proposed;
- you can leave at any time with two months’ notice.
The operators have changed their terms to match. Quintain Living, which runs the Wembley Park scheme, now says there is no minimum stay and that tenants give at least two months’ notice (Quintain Living FAQs); Get Living, which runs East Village in Stratford, says its tenancies became assured periodic tenancies and rents are reviewed once a year by section 13 notice (Get Living, Renters’ Rights Act FAQs). Marketing pages can lag behind: if a build-to-rent brochure still offers a ‘three-year tenancy’, that term cannot bind you now, so compare operators on what they do rather than on tenancy length.
One detail cuts the other way. The London Plan’s model break clause let a tenant leave on one month’s notice after six months, which is shorter than today’s two-month default. Tenancies that began before 1 May 2026 usually keep a shorter notice period written into the original agreement, and you and your landlord can agree a shorter one in writing.
What renting a build-to-rent flat costs
On 24 September 2026, Quintain Living’s website listed one-bedroom flats at Wembley Park at £2,205 to £2,385 a month before utilities, with a first-year discount on one of them. The ONS average for a one-bedroom home in Brent, which covers every private tenancy, old and new, was £1,577 in August 2026 (London Rent Index on FTR London). A new flat advertised today normally costs more than an all-tenancy average, so the gap overstates the premium, but it gives a sense of what the extras cost.
What you get for it differs by operator, so read what the rent includes before comparing:
- Quintain Living: superfast Wi-Fi, gyms and 24-hour support are included; electricity, heat and water are a separate fixed monthly charge adjusted to your actual use; parking, extra storage and work-from-home areas cost extra; council tax is yours to pay to Brent Council.
- Get Living (East Village): Wi-Fi is included and pets cost nothing extra; every home is on one district heating network, so you can’t switch heat supplier.
Both publish their deposit terms: five weeks’ rent (six weeks at Quintain Living where the rent is £50,000 a year or more, the legal maximum), protected in a scheme, with an optional deposit replacement at Get Living for which, it says, it receives a commission. Quintain Living says it typically looks for a household income of 2.5 times the annual rent, which on a £2,000 flat is £60,000 a year. That is equivalent to 30 times the monthly rent.
Questions to ask a build-to-rent operator
- Which bills are in the rent, which are a separate charge, and how is the utility charge adjusted?
- How will rent reviews work under Form 4A, and how have rents on renewal moved in the building?
- What costs extra: parking, storage, bookable rooms, pets?
- Can I switch my energy or heat supplier?
- What is the notice period in my agreement, and is any shorter period on offer?
A build-to-rent landlord is bound by the same law as any other: one stated rent in the advert and no bidding, no rent before you sign, at most one month’s rent between signing and moving in, and a deposit capped at five weeks’ rent (six weeks where the rent is £50,000 a year or more). Our guide to the hidden costs of renting in London covers the rest of the monthly budget, and co-living vs a flatshare compares the room-sized version of the same model.
What build to rent means for private landlords
Build to rent includes some large single-operator neighbourhoods, such as Wembley Park (3,565 homes run by Quintain Living) and East Village in Stratford (nearly 2,400 run by Get Living), and new supply is slowing. A private landlord competes with it on the same legal terms since May 2026, and on price: the Wembley Park example above shows how far new-build asking rents can sit above a borough’s all-tenancy average, which you can check for your own borough on the Rent Index. Our guide to letting a home in London covers what a landlord must do.
Finding a home to rent in London
On FTR London you can browse flats to rent across London by borough, zone, bedrooms and property type, and contact landlords directly. Landlords can list a home directly without paying a letting agent.
How we researched this: build-to-rent figures from the Real Estate:UK and Savills Build-to-Rent Report, Q2 2026; definitions from the National Planning Policy Framework and the London Plan 2021; operators’ terms and listed rents from their websites; rents from the ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026); checked on 24 and 25 September 2026.
Correction, 25 September 2026: an earlier version of this article said build-to-rent supply was set for its strongest growth yet in 2026 and quoted unnamed ‘industry analysts’ expecting ‘45,000+’ completed build-to-rent homes in London by late 2026, which understated the stock: London already had 64,724 by mid-2026. UK completions in the year to mid-2026 were in fact 9% lower than a year earlier, and new building had fallen sharply. It also said build-to-rent rents run 5–20% above older homes nearby and promised flexible lease terms, neither of which it sourced, and it listed ‘no surprise renewal fees’ as a build-to-rent advantage, although the Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans such fees for every private landlord. The article has been rewritten.