The boss of a build-to-rent (BTR) property search website has insisted the sector is not out to only attract more affluent tenants, despite criticism in the past that it does.

Love to Rent founder Anne-Marie Brown (main picture) says that as private landlords leave the market, BTR can help meet demand. “There’s a BTR property for a range of budgets,” she tells LandlordZONE.

“People are looking for quality, secure homes – there’s not so much security and tech in the standard private rented sector.

"Investors maintain BTR properties to a great standard, keep up with technology and want customer loyalty whereas private landlords might not be able to do that.”

To illustrate this, its website activity has increased by 53% in the last year, while the number of families searching for BTR homes has jumped by 509%.

Brown says there’s a growing pipeline of BTR properties and increasingly, family homes in suburban areas; the sector grew by 9% between Q1 2022 and Q1 2023, with the regional market growing at double the pace of London (12% and 6% respectively) as the concept stretches beyond young professionals in urban settings.

'Customers'

She tells LandlordZONE that tenants in these developments particularly appreciate having confidence in a brand so are happy to move to one of their homes in a different city, while shared spaces create a much more positive experience for customers.

“When this is combined with all the practical elements that build-to-rent offers, it is no surprise that interest in the sector is growing,” she adds.

The platform hopes to spread the word about the sector’s benefits with the third Love to Rent week from 25th–29th September. It will push the message that BTR is managed by professional landlords, meaning that “difficulties and challenges are mostly avoided”.

Read more: what does BTR mean for BTL?