Build to rent’s glitzy goldrush raises fears for social housing
The Keel, a converted former HMRC office block overlooking Liverpool’s waterfront, is billed as the solution to dull, impersonal renting. Tenants in the block of 240 new flats can fake a sun-kissed glow on video calls by dialling in from its new “Zoom room”. According to its interior designer, Jasper Sanders, the effect created by the tinted windows is a friendly nod to many Liverpudlians’ love of a year-round tan.
At the Wembley Park development in north-west London, renters can work from retro camper vans or sheds custom-made for home working.
Welcome to the fast-growing world of “build to rent”, an asset class that is shaking up the housing market, luring renters with the promise of more professional management than individual private landlords, and sucking in a flood of money, from banks, pension funds and even retailer John Lewis. Tempted by the prospect of stable returns, these blocks are developed, owned and operated by large companies with deep pockets.
Yet there is growing unease over the boom in this new class of rental property, with concern that the poorest in society will be priced out.
Rob Wall, a 34-year-old communication coach, moved to Wembley Park, the biggest build-to-rent complex in the UK, lured by the perks.
In return for pet-friendly but small apartments that come with communal benefits, such as gym access and a cinema room, tenants part with monthly rent starting at £1,770 (plus utilities of roughly £200 a month).
Developer Quintain’s all-inclusive package meant Wall no longer had to sort out his own utilities or arrange repairs. “We don’t have to be too hands-on with it,” he says. “As a drummer and football fan, it’s a real bonus being next to the SSE Arena and stadium.”
Institutional landlordism is
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