A property entrepreneur critical of the quality of traditional buy to let says the government should create a Minister for Renting to help millions of tenants. 

In a letter to Boris Johnson, Anne-Marie Brown of Love2Rent has called for the appointment to “oversee and raise standards for millions of people currently in rental accommodation, much of which is not fit for purpose and to enforce standards on landlords who do not comply and to encourage and play a part in the growing build to rent sector which has the ability to improve lives for the future.”

The letter comes after recent figures show that Build to Rent sector – despite grinding almost to a halt during the pandemic – has quadrupled in size since 2016 with figures for the third quarter of this year suggesting circa 37,000 units are under construction and approximately 84,000 are in planning. 

Brown continues in her letter to the PM: “Rented accommodation requires different governance than home-ownership, yet when both are being handled by the same Minister, they often focus predominately on increasing rates of home-ownership to the detriment of the rented market.

“Younger generations are becoming increasingly less reliant on private ownership in favour of rental properties that provides a secure and flexible lifestyle and this demand is only set to increase, as the Build to Rent sector continues to flourish.

“As the number of people renting rises and the profile of renters changes – with more families and older people choosing to rent – we need to refocus the agenda, placing more emphasis on improving conditions for renters, including holding landlords to account for poor performance, and promoting longer more secure tenancies.

“People have also started to re-evaluate where they want to live and what they want out of a home since the start of the pandemic, with many looking for pet friendly developments, space to work from home, access to high speed broadband and also social and community events to allow for social interaction.”