The new Build to Rent fund aims to cut the risk for developers used to building homes for sale who are looking to branch out into building homes for private rent.

To promote the private rented sector the Government will finance the construction of rental homes until they are built, let out and managed.

This will give developers the freedom to build homes specifically for that market with confidence.

Management companies will have the chance to invest in these new rental developments, and developers will then repay the investment from government.

Now developers are being invited to submit expressions of interest, including core information about their propositions. More details

Launching the new fund, the Housing Minister described it as yet another step to support housebuilding which will help boost the economy, create jobs and strengthen the housing market by providing people with a broader housing choice.

Prisk said that Build to Rent followed recommendations from the Montague report into rented homes published earlier this year.

The majority of private rental landlords are small-scale, individual investors. The fund will stimulate the market in private rented homes for large-scale housing organisations that will in turn help set a new benchmark for landlords across the country.

This is already being explored by Willmott Dixon and Berkeley Group.

To kickstart this new, larger scale market for privately rented homes, the minister said that Build to Rent will fund ‘demonstration’ projects to show how it might work.

Prisk said: “A healthy rental housing market must have a broad range of choice across the board. But for it to grow and develop, we must first attract new investors. The Build to Rent fund will support this, helping to build homes specifically for private rent and breathing new life into the sector.

“And by driving this market in housebuilding, the fund will also help create new jobs, build the homes that families need and local people want, and support economic growth across the country.”