Build To Rent planning application requests have risen 52 per cent in the past year according to the latest research.

However they are still off their pre-pandemic peak.

Some in the development industry regard planning permission applications a useful measure of the niche because they show how many developments are conceived, how many of those result in permission being granted, and how many are either refused or withdrawn by the applicant. 

The figures show that the pre-pandemic peak for BTR planning application approval came in mid 2019 when 6,682 applications were submitted. Of these, 4,151 – that’s 62 per cent – were granted full planning consent while 2,531, (38 per cent) were rejected or withdrawn.

By the time the pandemic began in Q1 2020, applications had risen to 7,900 submissions but the amount consented was down to 52 per cent.

By Q1 2021 – the most recent figures available – the BTR sector shows a rise again.

There were 11,975 planning applications were submitted, up 52 per cent on the year. Of these, 58 per cent received full approval – still down on the 62 per cent peak in 2019 – while 42 per cent were either rejected or withdrawn.

Ged McPartlin, managing director of Ascend Properties – which commissioned the research – says: “While developers sense high yield, low-risk opportunities, local authorities sense an opportunity to simultaneously meet the demand for new homes while rejuvenating and reinvigorating their economies and communities by introducing this new, dynamic way of living.”