Executive Takeaway

Insights into BTR resident diversity and design

This guide explores the evolving demographics of Build-to-Rent (BTR) residents, focusing on how diverse household types influence design choices in contemporary rental schemes.

Understanding these shifts allows developers and designers to create spaces that cater to varied lifestyles, ensuring homes remain functional and appealing across different resident profiles.

Introduction

Does the traditional BTR resident still exist?

For more than a decade now, Build-to-Rent properties and the sector have presented themselves as a strong alternative to the Private Rental Sector (PRS), driven by centralised management, community living, amenities, and better security of tenure. Part of the popularity is also due to housing affordability issues and a desire for premium, maintenance-free living without the burden of homeownership.

But have you ever wondered: who really resides in a BTR?

You might imagine a young working professional in their late twenties, working in finance or tech, renting a one-bed apartment in a city centre tower with a gym downstairs and a co-working lounge on the ground floor.

It is not a wrong picture. However, this is no longer a complete picture anymore.

The most detailed answer available is Who Lives in Build-to-Rent, a study run by the British Property Federation with the Association for Rental Living, BusinessLDN and PriceHubble. It surveyed more than 48,000 renters across almost 33,000 homes in England, roughly 38,600 of them in multifamily apartment schemes and just under 9,800 in single-family rental houses. Across age, income, household type and employment, that is a large enough sample for developers, operators and design teams to test their assumptions against, rather than rely on a general impression of who rents in BTR.

What the study actually shows is more nuanced than either the stereotype or its opposite:

BTR still leans young and still leans towards professionals, but it also houses a growing number of couples, sharers, families, key workers and students, alongside a meaningful and rising share of renters over 35. The resident base has diversified as the sector has scaled.

This matters for more than demographic interest. Specify a scheme around a single assumed resident, most often a young professional living alone or with a partner, and you risk getting the basics wrong for a growing share of the people who actually move in. Storage sized for a couple falls short for a family. A studio-friendly furniture package looks stranded in a three-bedroom suburban house. A layout built around one working adult rarely serves two people working from home five days a week.

That does not mean young professionals no longer matter. They remain the largest resident group in multifamily BTR. What has changed is that the conversation around design should not only be limited to young residents. As the sector has grown, resident profiles have become more varied, with different schemes attracting different types of renters depending on their location, property type and local demand.

This guide looks at what the latest resident data tells us and explores what it means for space planning, furniture specification and interior design.

The Scale of Build to Rent

Build-to-Rent continues to grow across the UK. By the second quarter of 2026, the sector had reached more than 310,000 homes across completed developments, construction and planning. Growth is also becoming more diverse. Alongside traditional multifamily apartment schemes, single-family housing and co-living have become established parts of the market, reflecting a wider range of residents and living preferences.

Different locations and different asset types attract different households, making resident-led design more important than ever.

Renters' Rights: What It Means for Build-to-Rent

The Renters' Rights Act, which came into force on 1 May 2026, has changed how tenancies work across England. The Act has replaced fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies with periodic tenancies, allowing residents to leave by giving two months' notice at any point.

For Build-to-Rent operators, this places even greater emphasis on the resident experience. While professionally managed buildings, strong amenities and customer service remain key strengths of the sector, creating homes that genuinely meet residents' needs is becoming an increasingly important factor in encouraging longer stays and improving resident satisfaction.

That is why understanding today's resident profiles matters. As Build-to-Rent continues to evolve, furnishing and interior design decisions need to reflect who is actually living in each scheme.

What Does the Latest Resident Data Tell Us?

For years, Build-to-Rent has been associated with young professionals renting city-centre apartments. But the data is showing changes to that.

Residents aged 25 to 34 remain the largest age group across both multifamily and single-family Build-to-Rent schemes. At the same time, the data highlights clear differences in the types of households each model attracts. Multifamily developments continue to appeal to couples and sharers, while single-family schemes are home to a much larger proportion of families.

Rather than one typical Build-to-Rent resident, the evidence points to a sector that is becoming increasingly diverse.

Age profile: young professionals still lead, but the resident base is broadening

• Young professionals remain the largest resident group: nearly three-quarters (74%) of multifamily Build-to-Rent residents are under the age of 35.
• The 25–34 age group accounts for 51% of residents in multifamily BTR, compared with 42% across the wider private rented sector.
• Resident profiles are gradually maturing: the proportion of residents aged 35–44 increased by 3 percentage points over the previous year, suggesting more renters are choosing to stay in Build-to-Rent as their housing needs evolve.
• Outside London, the picture remains broadly similar: the age profile changes very little once London is excluded.
• Single-family Build-to-Rent tells a different story: it attracts a noticeably older resident profile than multifamily schemes, reflecting its stronger appeal to families and longer-term households.

What This Means for Design

The latest resident data reinforces that young professionals remain the core audience for multifamily Build-to-Rent. However, it also shows that the resident base is becoming more diverse, with more households staying in rental accommodation through different life stages.

That does not mean multifamily interiors need to abandon the contemporary look and feel that attracts younger renters. It does suggest that schemes should be designed with greater longevity and flexibility in mind.

Household Composition: It's Not Just About Singles

Household type influences how residents use their homes every day. The latest Build-to-Rent research shows that multifamily and single-family developments attract very different household mixes, helping inform decisions around layouts, furniture and storage.

Household profile at a glance

To make retention strategies effective, understanding its core demographic is essential. 2025 BPF and ARL research shows the BTR population comprises:

What This Means for Design

Rather than designing for one typical resident, furniture and layouts should respond to how different households use their homes.

Design Takeaway

The resident data shows there is no longer a single Build-to-Rent household profile.

Multifamily developments continue to attract singles, couples and sharers, while single-family schemes appeal to a much higher proportion of families. Even so, neither model is defined by just one household type.

For designers and operators, the implication is straightforward. Furniture packages, storage, layouts and shared spaces should be informed by the households a scheme is most likely to attract, rather than applying the same specification across every development. Small design decisions, from wardrobe capacity to dining layouts and flexible living spaces, can make homes work better for the people who actually live in them.

Multifamily and Single-Family BTR Require Different Design Responses

Multifamily and single-family developments serve different residents, support different lifestyles and require different priorities.

Multifamily schemes are typically apartment-led developments in urban locations, where layouts need to make the most of compact spaces and shared amenities.

Single-family Build-to-Rent is more commonly made up of suburban houses, attracting a broader mix of households, including a much higher proportion of families.

The design brief should respond to the intended residents of each scheme rather than applying the same furniture package or specification across every development.

Students Are One of the UK's Largest Rental Communities

Every year, hundreds of thousands of students begin university in the UK, creating one of the country's largest annual waves of residential demand. In 2024/25, there were 2.86 million students studying at UK higher education providers, including almost 686,000 international students, who made up 24% of the total student population.

For many of these students, accommodation is their first experience of living independently. Whether they choose Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), university halls or shared private housing, their homes need to support studying, socialising and everyday life, often within compact spaces and on limited budgets.

Why PBSA Needs a Different Design Response

Student accommodation is not simply BTR with a younger resident profile. Students often use their homes for studying, sleeping, relaxing and socialising, sometimes within a single compact room. Many are also living independently for the first time, while international students may be arriving in a new country and city.

What Do Students Typically Need?

A Practical Checklist for Operators: Design around the resident

This guide points to one thing: that every scheme is unique and there is no single BTR resident who fits every scheme. Age, household type, income and lifestyle can vary significantly between locations, unit types and between multifamily and single-family homes.

A Quick BTR Design Checklist That Operators Should Know

Conclusion

The BTR resident is changing. The design brief should too.

While young professionals undeniably remain an important part of the sector, particularly in multifamily BTR, the latest resident data also shows a much broader picture. Couples, sharers, families, older renters and students all form part of today's rental landscape, with different needs across different homes and locations.

The takeaway is simple: design for the people most likely to live there, not the resident you assume will live there.

That means looking at age, income, household composition and lifestyle alongside the location, unit mix and type of BTR scheme. The result is not a promise of higher occupancy or longer retention. It is a more considered approach to creating homes that are practical, appealing and appropriate for the people they are intended to serve.

Turning that understanding into a practical specification is where good resident insight becomes good design.

How InStyle Direct Helps

Knowing who is likely to live in a scheme is the starting point. The next step is turning that insight into furniture, layouts and specifications that work in the real world.

At InStyle Direct, we work with BTR developers, operators, asset managers and project teams to take a project from the initial brief through to installation and ongoing support.

The result is a furnishing approach built around the people, property and practical requirements of each scheme, rather than a one-size-fits-all resident profile.

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