Developers Countryside, Crest Nicholson, Grainger, Lend Lease and Mount Anvil are among the successful applicants who will receive a share of £700 million from the first round of bidding. Prisk said that the projects going forward from this round will have the potential to deliver between 8,000 and 10,000 new homes. A quarter of the successful projects are in London.
The Government set up the Build to Rent fund, which is administered by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), last year to cut risk for developers looking to invest in homes built specifically for private rent.
The scheme gives management companies the chance to invest in new rental developments and developers can then repay the Government investment. Chancellor George Osborne increased the fund from £200m to £1bn in last month's Budget.
The Department for Local Government and Communities said in a statement that successful projects had been chosen "with deliverability, value for money, local demand and a clear exit strategy prioritised".
Prisk said that a new private rented sector taskforce had been created to provide advice for projects not taken forward in this round and to work with bidders in "refining proposals for future viable investment".
“This government is determined to get Britain building, and the Build to Rent Fund is set to help us deliver, with up to 10,000 new homes to be built from these projects," said Mark Prisk.
“We’ve seen overwhelming demand for the fund, and it’s become clear that there’s a real appetite for rental investment. We want to support that, which is why we’ve made a £1 billion Budget boost to the fund."
“Now, these new projects will help us map this almost uncharted market, bringing in new blood to improve rental quality and choice, and building the new homes that this country wants and needs,” Prisk said.
“The £1 billion Build to Rent fund presents a fantastic opportunity to bring about a step change in the way we meet the growing demand for rented homes in this country, while the incredible initial response to the fund clearly shows that builders are ready to take up that challenge," said HCA deputy chief executive Richard Hill.
"Our role is to ensure that the right schemes are supported in the right places, allowing quality and well-managed homes to come forward quickly to meet local demand,” he said.
“With London’s population expanding at record pace, we need to build around a million new homes in the next 25 years to meet demand and avert a possible housing crisis," said Mayor of London Boris Johnson. "Increasing supply in the private rented sector has a massive part to play in this."
"Building new well-designed homes to rent will also lead to a more balanced rental market for Londoners, as well as providing construction jobs and stimulating growth for London’s economy by making it an even better place to live and work in,” Johnson said.
Prisk said that a further bidding round for additional projects is expected to open later in the year.
