The Better Renting for Britain campaign has offered £30 billion to the next government for the development of new housing.

The funds could potentially build over 150,000 homes and house approximately 350,000 people.

The campaign believes an American-style rental market, where single companies own large portfolios of homes, could bolster standards offering better value and greater transparency.

Five requests were made in an open letter supported by the British Property Foundation (BPF) stating:

• Councils should identify how much rented housing they need and allocate land to it, ensuring that housing is rented and not sold by agreeing covenants with developers.

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• Idle public land to generate income for councils by developing rental blocks.

• A modernised approach to affordable housing which recognises the wholly different funding structures relating to build to rent compared with housing for sale.

• Allowing the build to rent sector to continue operating as a free market.

• Work with the campaign to promote best practice, better inform the public and help improve the perception of the rented sector.

The group also wants a commitment to market economics, ensuring new investment isn’t put at risk.

Melanie Leech, Chief Executive of the British Property Federation, said: "Supporting the build to rent sector will help the next government meet the housebuilding targets that all the main political parties have pledged to voters during this election.

"It will help reinvigorate our city centres and support local authorities that want to help retain their young people who need homes. And most importantly, for renters, it will revolutionise the sector, providing greater choice of tenure length, rent certainty and high levels of customer service."

(LM/CD)