According to the latest analysis from the Scottish Property Federation (SPF) and Savills, this takes the total number for BtR units under construction down to 2,101 from the prior year figure of 2,472 homes.

For the SPF, the decline comes despite recent statements from the Scottish Government encouraging investment into residential, including BtR, and further highlights the damaging impact potential proposals around rent controls have had on investor sentiment. This can be evidenced by the fact that 11,103 BtR homes in Scotland remain stuck in planning and are not being translated into new construction activity.

The result of this continues to see the number of BtR completions significantly exceed those under construction, with a 16% increase of new developments being finished in Q2 2025 compared to Q2 2024. While this is a welcome increase, the SPF said this further highlights the real challenge the Scottish BtR sector continues to face is one of pipeline exhaustion.

Welcoming the slight change in tone from the Scottish Government, the SPF has argued that the continued slowdown in construction activity, and the stunted growth of new schemes being taken through planning, are undoubtedly the consequence of the diminished confidence of investors and challenging economic conditions.

In response, the SPF has used its submission to the Housing (Scotland) Bill consultation on how powers within the Bill could be used to exempt certain types of properties from rent control to urge that the Build to Rent sector be issued with blanket exemption.

David Melhuish, director of the Scottish Property Federation, said: “The continued decline in the number of BtR schemes starting on site, reflect that persistent policy uncertainty, especially around rent controls, continues to have a damaging impact upon investor confidence in Scottish BtR.

“On this trajectory, Scotland will soon exhaust the pipeline of new BtR developments, as completions continue to exceed commencements. To restore investor confidence and to kick start new supply of rental homes, we are calling as part of our response to the Scottish Government’s recent Housing consultation, for Built to Rent/Mid-Market rent to be granted an exemption from rent controls across Scotland.”