Build to Rent meaning

Checklist This Checklist applies when acquiring a long leasehold interest carrying a capital value, rather than a shorter tenancy at an open market rent, which is unlikely to attract any capital value. A purchaser’s solicitor should examine the landlord’s right to forfeit the lease, as in some situations particular forfeiture clauses can render a lease unacceptable as security to a lender and, in turn, unsuitable for purchase. Could the landlord exercise forfeiture upon the tenant’s insolvency? Where the landlord holds a right to forfeit on a tenant insolvency event, the property will not be acceptable security to a lender and is therefore inappropriate as an investment acquisition. Consequently, such a lease is neither appropriate for lending purposes nor for any purchase...

In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Leasing property Statutory compliance Property development Property taxes Property in Wales LexTalk®Property: a Lexis®Nexis community Additional property updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New Q&As Key developments and horizon scanning Law Society comments on Renters' Rights Bill The Law Society has issued its view on the Renters' Rights Bill, which had its second reading in the House of Lords on 4 February 2025. It broadly backs the planned changes—such as prohibiting ‘no-fault’ evictions and curbing rental bidding wars—but warns these aims risk faltering without clearer enforcement mechanisms and extra funding for the justice system. It also notes the reforms could prompt more contested hearings, since landlords will need to evidence valid grounds for possession, and a spike in claims as tenants gain greater scope to challenge evictions. The Law Society urges the government to set out how courts will be resourced...

In this issue: Transferring property Commercial real estate finance Statutory compliance Property development Easements, rights and covenants Residential property Insurance Property taxes Additional property updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers New Q&As Transferring property HMLR announces plans to share data on avoidable requisitions with customers HM Land Registry intends to provide firms with visibility of the proportion of their applications that include simple-to-avoid requisitions, such as mismatched names, missing documents, and witness information. These insights are scheduled for publication in Autumn 2025. Across firms, current levels vary, with between 0% and 24% of applications affected. In tandem, HMLR is refining its processes and systems to better support users: raising requisitions only where necessary and automatically validating certain details at the drafting stage. The goal is to achieve accurate registrations first time, without the need for extra clarification or additional supporting material. See: LNB...

In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Leasing property Transferring property Investigating title Residential property Property taxes Property in Scotland Additional property updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New Q&As Key developments and horizon scanning BPF publishes new planning and carbon manifestos The British Property Federation (BPF) has released fresh planning and carbon manifestos in the run-up to the general election. Its planning manifesto, ‘Building More, Building Better’, urges the next government to refine current frameworks and policies to deliver a planning regime that is swift, effective and predictable, firmly underpinning productivity and sustainability across the UK. The carbon manifesto, ‘Building a Sustainable Future’, asks the incoming administration to partner with the building industry to devise a comprehensive net zero carbon roadmap for the real estate sector across all asset classes and tenures, covering existing stock and new development. See: LNB News 21/06/2024 41. Sources: BPF calls for...

Contents Context Viability in national planning policy and guidance Local planning policy and guidance RICS 2021 Guidance on viability Viability assessments in practice Decision-taking and section 106 agreements London Build to rent Transparency, viability and freedom of information Viability evidence and risk of third party challenges Glossary Context The planning framework in England and Wales is driven by plans. Every local planning authority (LPA) is required to produce and keep up to date a development plan that identifies planning policies and land use priorities for its area. These plans indicate where development may come forward, and the nature, scale and form that will be allowed in specified places. They also typically include policies for securing planning obligations made under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990), often called section 106 agreements or planning obligations. Such obligations offset the effects of proposals on nearby communities and render schemes acceptable...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 gained Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For advice on how the Act affects residential tenancies in England, consult Practice Note: Renters’ Rights Act 2025—key provisions. STOP PRESS: A revised edition of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was issued on 12 December 2024...

Over the past twenty years, build to rent offerings have expanded across the UK, most visibly in large metropolitan centres such as London. Professionally operated and held by institutional investors, its rise reflects comparable developments in countries including Germany and the USA. It is now regarded as a separate asset class within the private rented sector and is defined in the National Planning Policy Framework glossary, simplifying its consideration within the planning system. This Practice Note sets out: the nature of build to rent transactions and how they diverge from conventional residential development finance the typical financing structures used for build to rent the principal points to address when documenting build to rent transactions the applicable regulatory and planning matters the key legislation influencing the sector What is build to rent? ‘Build to rent’ describes schemes where homes are delivered specifically for the long-term rental market. In real estate finance terms, it commonly combines development finance during the construction...