Scotland’s Build to Rent market “stuck in the pipeline”, claims report – Scottish Business News

In its latest report on the sector, property firm Rettie says that Scotland’s Build to Rent market is “stuck in the pipeline”, with an estimated 14,000 new homes held up in the pre-planning or planning stage and at increased risk of not being delivered.  

Dr John Boyle, Director of Strategy and Research at Rettie, said: “In the face of a housing emergency across the country, the lack of progress on Build to Rent is alarming, particularly given the speed and development in other UK cities.”  

Build to Rent (BTR) involves institutional funds purchasing and building out sites to provide new residential accommodation quickly and at scale.  To date, 4,458 BTR units have been delivered in Scotland.  This year, BTR units completed include Moda Living’s 433-unit Holland Park development in Glasgow, and BTR developer and operator PLATFORM_ completing the first phase of its flagship development at Bonnington in Edinburgh, with 365 apartments. 

Dr John Boyle said: “A major reason for the deadlock is around political risk.  Unfortunately, investors have tagged Scotland with a risk premium due to concerns about future legislative and tax changes.  In no small part, this stems from the introduction of the rent freeze in 2022, with no prior consultation or warning, and the risk premium has remained high due to the prospect of a national system of rent controls proposed in the new Housing (Scotland) Bill, which is progressing through Parliament.” 

“Strong underlying market fundamentals have kept Scotland’s BTR sector alive, but there has been very slow progress over the last year and no new investment in the sector for the best part of two years.  While a number of schemes have achieved completion over the last 12 months, to date 2024 has seen the fewest number of new BTR units entering the pipeline since 2015.”

According to a recent report by Colliers, Edinburgh and Glasgow should be positioned 1st and 2nd in the whole of the UK in terms of the attractiveness for residential investment. 

John Boyle added: “Revisions to the Housing Bill will be required to breathe life back into the sector, otherwise  Build to Rent will continue to happen in the rest of the UK, but not here.”