Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Strategy. Read the original article for full details.

Build to Rent Investment More Than Doubles Over Past Decade

Build to Rent investment has more than doubled in the last ten years, according to data from Propoly. Investment in the sector rose from £2.3 billion in 2016 to £5.5 billion in 2025, with £3.1 billion already invested during the first half of 2026.

Propoly’s data shows an 88.4% year-on-year increase in Build to Rent investment for the first half of 2026. The company highlights that this growth is changing expectations for letting agents, as institutional investors in Build to Rent demand higher standards of compliance, reporting, and operational transparency compared to traditional buy-to-let landlords.

Propoly notes that one of the biggest mistakes agencies can make is to treat Build to Rent as simply buy-to-let on a larger scale. The operational demands are described as fundamentally different, requiring agencies to deliver institutional-grade processes while maintaining a high standard of customer experience.

The report also points out that technology is becoming essential for letting agents working in the Build to Rent sector. Automation of compliance, tenancy progression, and resident communications is highlighted as a way for agents to manage larger portfolios without a proportional increase in staff numbers.