Enabling affordable rental housing through build to rent: policy reform and institutional investment in Australia

Purpose:
Addressing Australia’s housing shortage requires large-scale, purpose-built rental housing to be embedded within broader housing strategies. This study aims to investigate build to rent (BtR) as a potential solution that can be integrated into Australia’s housing policy framework to deliver affordable, professionally managed rental supply. Although BtR is well established in the USA, UK and parts of Europe, it remains limited in Australia and is largely concentrated in higher-income inner-urban markets.

Design/methodology/approach:
This study draws on 31 semi-structured interviews with policy officials, developers, institutional investors and community housing providers to examine how BtR can contribute to affordability outcomes. Data were coded thematically to identify barriers and enablers to affordable BtR delivery.

Findings:
Several critical factors emerged including high land costs, tax settings, fragmented planning frameworks and the under-utilisation of non-profit partnerships. Participants emphasised the importance of government contributions such as public land access, tax incentives and structured public−private partnerships to attract and shape institutional investment. Strengthening policy oversight and introducing enforceable inclusion mechanisms were identified as necessary steps to align BtR with long-term affordability objectives. Interviewees noted that BtR is regarded as a “commercial” residential asset class with potential to provide long-term tenure security, while some participants also suggested partnership models involving government, private investors and not-for-profit organisations to strengthen BtR delivery and management.

Originality/value:
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study contributes the first qualitative synthesis of multi-stakeholder perspectives on BtR affordability in Australia from a property investment perspective, and advances an evidence-based policy roadmap that incorporates international experience while remaining tailored to the Australian context.