Investors Seek Revised Affordable Home Definition

The property industry has responded to the Government backed Montague Review into investing in ‘build to rent’ homes by declaring modest tweaks to legislation could see ‘significant’ interest from institutions such as pension funds, insurance companies and REITs. Led by Sir Adrian Montague, the review is examining what barriers exist to greater institutional investment in the private rented sector, and how the supply of these properties can be increased in line with rapidly growing demand. 

A response submitted jointly by the British Property Federation (BPF), the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF) and the Investment Property Forum (IPF) has called on Government to:

    *Explicitly encourage ‘build to rent’ to realise large scale projects that support the yields institutions seek;

    *Use S.106 agreements to treat ‘market rent’ dwellings as affordable housing through a covenant that all units on a development will be rented for a minimum period of 10 years from first occupation;

    *Add further impetus by advising local authorities as to the benefits that ‘market rented’ housing can provide in fulfilling their requirements in the NPPF to identify a supply of housing sites.

Read more on the BPF website.