The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) has called for more Federal Government support for Build To Rent (BTR) projects, including money from the $10 billion Housing Future Fund.

BTR – which we believe will be a serious competitor to the traditional retirement village – has proven popular among state and territory governments, with NSW, the ACT, and WA all moving to encourage its development.

In three years, more than 30,000 homes have been created by this new property sector, and 48 new developments have been approved.

The first BTR development, LIV at Olympic Park in Sydney by Mirvac has 14.5% takeup by Baby Boomers.

The development industry body has released a new report claiming the Future Fund could be used to incentivise delivery by private developers and community housing providers of around 21,000 social and affordable housing dwellings per year.

According to UDIA National President Maxwell Shifman (pictured), the organisation wants to see a model similar to the Rudd Government’s National Rental Affordability Scheme, and embracing BTR could help close the housing gap.

“Our Build To Rent report shows that BTR can be delivered by the development industry at scale with implementation of reforms that level the playing field with build to sell housing,” he said.