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The UK’s largest build-to-rent scheme has been given a £65m boost by the government.
Developer Quintain is building 7,600 homes on an 85 acre site in Wembley Park, north London – at least 6,800 of which will be for private rent.
The money was pledged after the government said responses to its consultation on planning for build-to-rent “showed widespread support” for its proposals to support the tenure.
Nick Walkley, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, said: “We’re determined to get more homes built now and increase the rate of future development.
“This development is a fantastic example of how we fund vital infrastructure to speed up the construction of much-needed quality homes for people to rent.”
Housing minister Alok Sharma said the Wembley Park development is improving the private rented sector by “boosting the choice of quality homes on the market”.
Units at the site will be completed in phases over the next seven years and up to 2,350 will be affordable, although it has not been specified what level the rent will be compared to market rents.
The loan – which comes from the government’s £3bn Home Building Fund – will be used to build infrastructure to help accelerate delivery.
Angus Dodd, chief executive of Quintain, said the firm would match the £65m with its own infrastructure investment.
Measures in the government consultation on build-to-rent included changing planning rules to encourage councils to proactively plan for this type of development, making it easier for developers to offer affordable private rent and the introduction of longer tenancies.
Of those responding to the consultation, 78% felt that market failures are impeding build-to-rent development, while 80% said that affordable private rent should qualify as affordable housing in the National Planning Policy Framework.
British Property Federation figures suggest 80,855 build-to-rent homes are completed or planned across England, while Savills has said the sector could provide up to 15,000 homes a year by 2030.