Analysis from the British Property Federation (BPF) and Savills has revealed that the number of BTR construction starts has fallen from 26,559 to 6,114 in that time.

This decline has worsened in 2025, with a 13% decline specifically between 2024 and 2025.

The sharpest drop (29%) was seen in London, where the number of BTR units in planning grew by only 2%. In comparison, this metric was 14% in 2022.

Despite a slowdown in construction starts, the data shows that BTR completions are increasing.

The total number of completed BTR units has now surpassed 139,132, a growth of 14% in completed stock over the past 12 months. This was driven by particularly strong completions between Q1 and Q2 2025.

The trend of completions exceeding starts, which started at the beginning of 2024, continued in the third quarter of 2025.

In response, the BPF is now urging the government to provide greater tax and regulatory stability, speed up planning processes and remove council tax and business rates on empty units to help development accelerate.

•   The Finance Professional Show 2024: The Video
•   New report flags Birmingham BTR opportunity
•   Reg clarity to unlock 8,000-plus Scottish BTR units

The BPF is also calling for the reintroduction of Stamp Duty Land Tax support for high-density housing, and to consider a carve out from this tax completely in areas of low land value.

Melanie Leech, chief executive at the British Property Federation said: “While we appreciate the fiscal pressures the government is facing, inertia in the face of the ongoing viability crisis will cost the government dearly by deterring investment and stalling development.

“Steps to streamline the planning process are welcome, along with the recent announcement on affordable housing requirements in London, but without a stable policy environment the country is going to continue to see declining construction activity.

“We urge the government to carefully consider the levers it pulls to plug the fiscal hole in the upcoming budget, as we have seen firsthand the consequence of scrapping multiple dwellings relief on the provision of new rental homes and caution against any ‘quick fixes’ as it will knock already fragile investor confidence,” Melanie continued.