Generation Rent shifts focus from Buy-to-Let to Build-to-Rent.

In a detailed analysis of London’s rental market published on its website, Generation Rent’s deputy chief executive Dan Wilson Craw critiques the role of institutional landlords in the Build-to-Rent sector.

He says: He says: “As long as home ownership is out of reach for a majority of London’s renters, much private sector investment in new homes will come from landlords. It is important that these investors have the right motivations and are committed to providing long term homes to their tenants.”

He also says that BTR told the public it was “as a professional alternative to buy to let” and has been told by people of “concerning stories of Build to Rent operators seeking to maximise rents and pulling the rug from under their tenants’ feet.” 

In his critique of Build-to-Rent developments, Dan Wilson Craw points to a media report detailing troubling practices within a scheme backed by private equity. According to the article, some tenants were issued Section 21 eviction notices, while others faced what he describes as “above-inflation rent increases”—raising concerns about affordability and security in a sector often marketed as a stable alternative to traditional renting.

Wilson Craw stated: “We are concerned if this type of investor is behind a lot of BTR development in London.

“Under the current London plan, BTR projects are encouraged to offer longer tenancies and index-linked rents. It is important that the Greater London Authority has a clear sense of how common it is for these projects to make such commitments, how closely developers/operators stick to them, and whether oversight of Build to Rent should be strengthened.”

He finally understands that Build To Rent homes “typically fetch a higher rent” and often bypass the communities most in need of affordable housing.

He said on the website: “Because the homes are newer, they typically fetch a higher rent. This can reduce pressure on the local area, so wealthier tenants move into the new flats rather than the older homes nearby, which is what otherwise happens, and encourages landlords to raise the rent on existing tenants (or evict them while Section 21 still exists). But without providing a contribution to social housing, BTR won’t directly reduce waiting lists or take families out of temporary accommodation.”

Echoing Generation Rent’s long-held stance, the activist renews the push for city region mayors to wield rent control powers—with London’s Sadiq Khan positioned as a prominent advocate.