Justine Edmonds Responds to 2025 Budget

“For Build to Rent (BTR), this is a Budget that recognises the importance of housing-led growth but stops short of addressing the specific barriers holding back large-scale rental development.

“The positive news is centred on planning. The confirmation of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, faster timelines for major schemes, new resources for local authorities and a default presumption in favour of development around train stations all support delivery. These are welcome steps for a sector that depends on certainty, speed and consistency to bring forward large, multi-phase schemes. The wider push to unlock strategic sites and new towns also aligns with long-term BTR investment.

“But beyond planning, the Budget leaves several of the sector’s most pressing concerns unanswered. There was no reinstatement of Multiple Dwellings Relief, despite the fact that its removal last year made around 25,000 planned BTR homes unviable. There was no extension of empty property business rates relief or removal of council tax on newly built but unoccupied BTR units, both of which would directly reduce holding costs and improve scheme viability at a time when inflation, borrowing costs and yield compression are already squeezing margins. And the government chose not to expand zero-VAT on energy-saving materials to cover retrofit and refurbishment, missing a straightforward opportunity to drive reinvestment in the existing BTR stock.

“In short, the Budget supports the conditions around BTR, but not the mechanics of delivery itself. The commitment to housing supply is clear, yet the specific levers that would get stalled BTR projects moving again were largely absent. Starts remain subdued not because the fundamentals have weakened, but because viability sits on a knife-edge and investors have been waiting for a signal of stability.

“If the government wants BTR to play the full role its scale allows, future fiscal decisions need to focus on viability, certainty and long-term consistency. With the right tax environment alongside planning reform, BTR can accelerate delivery, support regeneration and contribute meaningfully to the 1.5 million homes target.”