PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Private Rented Housing: Construction (4 December 2014)

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) developments and (b) homes have (i) been started and (ii) been completed under the Build to Rent scheme since the start of that scheme.

Asked by:
Emma Reynolds (Labour)

The Build to Rent fund provides development finance to support the creation of a purpose-built private rented sector, backed by institutional investment. The fund is market- led and the response has been strong.

By December 2014, contracts to the value of £177 million had been agreed, to deliver over 2,000 homes. Almost 600 homes had already started on five schemes, with 129 completions at this very early stage in the programme.

By March 2015, we estimate contracts will have been agreed up to the value of £819 million, delivering over 8,300 homes, followed by up to a further £246 million worth of deals (for over 2,100 homes) to be agreed during 2015.

We estimate that the Fund will this year be committed in full, and I can confirm that the programme is on course to meet our 10,000 homes target.

The hon. Member will no doubt try to nit-pick with the success of this novel and ground-breaking scheme, given the Labour Party seeks to oppose every single scheme we have to build new homes. But I would observe that the Labour Party’s plans for excessive red tape and new regulation on the private rented sector would scare away institutional investment and cut spending on new build rented homes.

Answered by:
Sir Brandon Lewis (Conservative)
23 January 2015