Build to Rent planning activity outside London has fallen into decline, with quarterly growth rates turning negative as rising construction costs and planning delays dampen appetite for new schemes across regional markets.
Analysis by Foxtons of Q3 2025 data shows planning levels in areas outside the capital dropped 1.4 per cent year on year. Between the first and third quarters of 2025, regional markets recorded an average quarterly decline of 2.9 per cent — a sharp reversal from the 1.8 per cent average quarterly growth seen throughout 2024.
The national picture reflects this cooling momentum. While 106,406 Build to Rent developments are currently in planning across the country, up 2.1 per cent annually, quarterly growth has turned negative. The average quarterly rate of growth fell from 1.9 per cent in 2024 to minus one per cent in 2025.
London, however, has moved in the opposite direction. Planning numbers in the capital rose 8.5 per cent year on year, with average quarterly growth of 2.6 per cent over the first three quarters of 2025 — an improvement on the 2.4 per cent recorded throughout the previous year.
The capital now accounts for 37.2 per cent of all Build to Rent planning activity nationally, a proportion that has increased since the second quarter of 2024.
Sarah Tonkinson, Managing Director of Foxtons Institutional PRS and Build to Rent, said economic headwinds, rising build costs and planning delays had clearly affected regional markets, while London continued to benefit from strong rental demand and long-term investor confidence.
She added that with affordability pressures persisting in the sales market, Build to Rent remained one of the few areas where delivery could keep pace with tenant demand.
