Brendan Geraghty, Chief Executive, the Association for Rental Living, comments:

“The Association for Rental Living (ARL) welcomes the publication of the new NPPF – the consultation for which we submitted to on behalf of our members – and applauds the Government’s efforts to enact change in the planning system which has restricted the delivery of new homes historically.

“The new NPPF provides a degree of planning certainty and for investors, this is a very positive step. In the ARL Investor Snapshot 2026 almost 4 in 10 (38%) senior institutional and long-term investors active in UK Build to Rent named planning reform as the single most powerful government lever for delivery, and with these reforms now in place, we are hopeful this will translate into accelerated Build to Rent delivery.

“We also welcome the NPPF’s updated definition of Build to Rent following the Renter’s Rights Act, as well as its explicit development proposals to address specialist housing need including for older people, purpose-built student and for the first time, large-scale shared living accommodation. The acknowledgment that different housing typologies and tenures are required, including ongoing management plans for purpose-built student and large-scale shared living accommodation, as part of delivering a sufficient supply of homes, is encouraging.

“Many of the Framework’s substantive reforms, designed to boost housing supply, align with the hallmarks of Build to Rent most notably the ability to build at pace and let over time, thus swiftly delivering the good quality, new rental homes in such great demand, in the locations they are needed.”