© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
The UK property market is becoming increasingly dominated by large property management companies and institutional investors, leaving smaller, independent landlords and investors struggling to compete. Rising property prices, increasing regulatory requirements, and limited access to prime development opportunities have squeezed out many smaller players who once formed the backbone of the private rental and buy-to-let sectors. However, in the face of these challenges, the renovation of low-rise properties presents a valuable opportunity for smaller investors to re-enter the market and secure viable, long-term investments.
Over the past decade, large property firms have taken control of much of the urban rental market, particularly in cities such as London, Manchester, and Birmingham. Backed by significant capital, these firms have focused on large-scale developments, including high-rise build-to-rent schemes, which are often unaffordable for the average investor to access or compete with. Simultaneously, government policy has introduced higher stamp duty on second homes, stricter lending rules, and more stringent regulations around energy efficiency and tenant rights—further discouraging small landlords.
In this increasingly competitive landscape, the renovation of low-rise properties offers a more accessible entry point. These buildings, which are often overlooked by large developers due to their smaller scale, can be found in both urban and suburban settings. Disused houses, empty retail units, former offices, and ageing low-rise flats can often be purchased below market value and transformed into high-quality rental or resale properties. For smaller investors, this represents an opportunity to add real value through refurbishment rather than relying solely on market appreciation.
Renovation projects can also be phased and tailored to suit an individual investor’s budget and timeline—unlike large-scale developments, which require significant upfront capital and long-term planning. Moreover, with the rise of modular construction, energy-efficient retrofitting techniques, and government incentives for sustainable upgrades, renovating low-rise properties is becoming more cost-effective and environmentally responsible. In addition, smaller investors can benefit from government-led regeneration schemes and local authority support aimed at revitalising run-down urban areas. Some councils are even offering grants, tax relief, or low-interest loans to encourage the renovation of derelict properties, creating further opportunities for those willing to invest in local communities.
Times are most certainly changing. It used to be the case that larger projects made sense in terms of economies of scale. Access control is the perfect example - a single tower block only needs one or maybe two Intercoms, say, and existing cabling, albeit ancient, is already in place. But the seeming advantage of aging infrastructure now makes far less sense due to the advent of modern technologies. New wireless protocols have changed everything in this area, allowing access control systems to be set up in hours not months.
One company spearheading the march towards low-rise reinvention is Intratone. In fact, their latest offering is tailor-made for this new emerging market. 'Only One' is an all-in-one video intercom that takes advantage of wireless technology to embrace the modular approach of less conventional properties and comes as a package that includes everything that a smaller developer might foreseeably need in one box. At the moment, it’s a unique, ground-breaking product within the marketplace, but in time other me-too brands will no doubt follow suit when they realise the opportunities that low-rise accommodation delivers.
Whilst we may have got the world of access control locked up, they are not the only ones in the propery market starting to embrace low-rise opportunities. Tenants and buyers alike are showing a preference for homes that offer more space, character, and a sense of community – qualities that are so often missing in large, impersonal high-rise developments. This shift in demand, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing popularity of remote work, means that well-renovated, low-rise properties can attract stable tenants and strong rental yields, especially when located near transport links and local amenities.
Ultimately, while the UK property market may seem increasingly closed off to smaller investors, the renovation of low-rise properties offers a viable, flexible, and potentially lucrative alternative. By focusing on neglected assets that fall beneath the radar of large property firms, smaller investors can carve out a niche in a challenging market—restoring value to the built environment while building sustainable portfolios.
Mailys Robillard, Marketing Manager at Intratone