London Build to Rent planning numbers up despite national slowdown

London is pressing ahead with Build to Rent (BTR) activity despite signs of a nationwide slowdown, an analysis from Foxtons has found.

It says that planning volumes in the capital are up 8.5% year on year.

The firm reviewed Q3 2025 planning figures and found 106,406 BTR homes are currently in the national pipeline.

That headline total is 2.1% higher than a year earlier, though momentum has faded when measured quarter by quarter.

BTR appetite cooling

The firm’s managing director of institutional PRS and BTR, Sarah Tonkinson, said: “The Build to Rent sector has established itself as a vital component of the UK rental market, but the latest figures suggest that appetite for new development is cooling outside of London.

“But whilst economic headwinds, rising build costs and planning delays have clearly dented activity across regional markets, London continues to buck the trend.”

She added: “We’ve seen consistent growth in planning numbers across the capital, reflecting both the strength of rental demand and the long-term confidence investors hold in the London market.

“With affordability pressures persisting in the for-sale sector, Build to Rent remains one of the few areas where delivery can keep pace with tenant demand, and London is at the forefront of that delivery.”

Regional BTR dips

During 2024, BTR schemes in planning expanded by an average of 1.9% each quarter.

Over 2025 to today, that trend has reversed, with average quarterly movement slipping to -1%.

However, the drag is coming from outside the capital where planning levels are down -1.4% annually.

They have fallen at an average quarterly rate of -2.9% between Q1 and Q3 2025.

That compares with an average quarterly growth of 1.8% through 2024.

London BTR grows

Foxtons says that London tells a different story as planning volumes across the capital jumped 8.5% over the year.

The leap has been supported by an average quarterly growth of 2.6% during the first three quarters of 2025.

That marks a modest improvement on the 2.4% quarterly pace recorded in 2024.

In Q3 alone, London accounted for 37.2% of all Build to Rent schemes in planning, a share that has been rising steadily since Q2 2024.