Investors into Scotland’s Build to Rent (BTR) sector have been urged to ensure that schemes have operational management factored in from the earliest stages of development.

A new report from residential property management company FirstPort is based on a roundtable meeting involving some of Scotland’s major players in industry and representatives of government.

With significant government backing, the hope is that BTR will attract £500 million of investment and deliver 2,500 private rental homes by 2020 to help address the housing shortage in Scotland.

But, according to Build to Rent in Scotland: Getting it right, across the UK the BTR sector has so far faced challenges establishing itself as a significant element of the housing market.

FirstPort business development manager, Jeremy Ogborne, said: “Build to Rent in Scotland: Getting it right addresses some of the barriers that have slowed investment and delivery in the BTR sector. The report argues that securing the confidence of investors, of government, and of customers, is key, and that ensuring how the building will operate and serve its local market should be planned in from the beginning.

“The key message is that, in the end, the quality of operational delivery will define a development and the customer experience. In the everyday life of a development it is going to make the difference between efficient and high-quality amenities versus amenities which are disused or deteriorating; the difference between a vibrant community in which residents feel they belong, versus one with dissatisfied, disengaged customers.

“Operational delivery is absolutely key to providing a healthy return on investment for the long-term, reducing customer churn, and maintaining a premium look and feel.

“If a development treats this as an afterthought then it is going to struggle to remain viable, as some BTR developments currently are. There are very few managing agents in the market with the scale necessary to perform this role.

“Now the Scottish Government is calling on the sector to deliver, and with operational expertise, management information and an experienced, skilled workforce all factored in from day one, it can do so.”

Build to Rent in Scotland: Getting it right includes input from Homes for Scotland, Pinsent Masons LLP, the Scottish Futures Trust, the Scottish Property Federation, Montagu Evans, the EDI Group and representatives of the Scottish Government.