Build-to-Rent
Build-to-Rent IT solutions — specified at Stage 2, supported for life
BTR developments have hospitality-grade resident expectations and residential-scale infrastructure demands. Pacific Infotech Group works with BTR operators and their construction teams from RIBA Stage 2 — designing, delivering and managing the full IT estate from the first AP position to long-term managed support.
Operational realities
What BTR operators actually need from IT
Build-to-Rent is not a hotel and it is not a traditional residential block. The IT requirements reflect that hybrid position — and they must be addressed from the moment a planning application is approved.
IT scoped from construction — not retrofitted
BTR developments are built by a single operator who controls the whole building. That means IT infrastructure — cabling routes, riser sizing, comms-room location, AP positions — can and should be specified at RIBA Stage 2, not decided after practical completion. Retrofitting structured cabling into a completed building is expensive, disruptive and almost always a compromise. Getting it into the construction programme from the start costs a fraction of the alternative.
Amenity spaces demand a different Wi-Fi design
A BTR development with a gym, co-working floor, residents' lounge and roof terrace has multiple high-density zones that behave like commercial spaces, not residential units. A gym at peak hour has 40 devices in a room that was designed as a leisure facility, not a data centre. The Wi-Fi design must account for each amenity zone separately — capacity, channel planning and roaming behaviour — on top of the per-unit residential coverage.
Property-tech integration is a first-class requirement
BTR operators rely on property management platforms (Yardi, MRI Software), door-access systems (Salto, Brivo, Paxton), parcel-locker systems and EV charging controllers — all of which land on the building's IP network. Each system has a vendor who will ask your network to do something different. Your IT partner needs to have integrated with these platforms before, understand their network requirements and hold the overall design accountable.
Resident expectations set by hospitality, not traditional renting
BTR residents pay a premium and expect a premium experience. Wi-Fi that drops out, a concierge intercom that glitches, a parcel-locker app that can't connect — these are not inconveniences residents will absorb quietly. They are review topics. The reliability bar for BTR IT is closer to a 4-star hotel than a traditional residential tenancy, even though the infrastructure is fundamentally residential.
Long asset lifecycle — the specification you approve today lasts a decade
A BTR building built today will have residents in it for 15 to 20 years. The cabling put in at construction, the switching architecture chosen, the AP positions fixed in the ceiling — these decisions shape what is possible for the life of the asset. Under-specifying at the outset to save capital expenditure typically costs more in remediation within three years than the saving was worth.
Our services for BTR
Build-to-Rent IT solutions — what we deliver
From pre-construction cabling specification through to resident-facing managed support — scoped for BTR scale and operator expectations.
Wi-Fi Solutions→
Per-unit private VLAN and high-density amenity-space Wi-Fi across gym, co-working and lounge.
New Build IT Projects→
End-to-end IT from RIBA Stage 2 — structured cabling, infrastructure and commissioning.
IT Infrastructure & Networks→
Core switching, riser design and server-room build for BTR developments of any scale.
CCTV Solutions→
IP CCTV across lobbies, car parks, communal corridors and external perimeter.
Managed IT Support→
Ongoing managed support with resident-facing helpdesk once the development is live.
VoIP & Telephony→
Intercom, door-entry telephony and management-team PBX or softphone setup.
Cyber Security→
Network segmentation, GDPR-compliant resident data handling and threat monitoring.
Cloud & Microsoft 365→
M365 and cloud infrastructure for the BTR management and operations team.
Disaster Recovery & Backup→
Backup and recovery for network config, resident records and access-control data.
IT Gap Analysis→
Free audit of your BTR IT specification or live estate against best practice.
Vertical differences
BTR versus MDU and co-living — where the IT differs
BTR, MDU and co-living are all multi-unit residential — but their IT requirements diverge in ways that matter when you are specifying a new building.
Build-to-Rent
New-build, amenity-heavy, proptech-integrated
- ✓Always new-build — IT specified from RIBA Stage 2, no retrofit compromise
- ✓Amenity zones (gym, co-working, lounge) need separate high-density design
- ✓Yardi, MRI, Salto integrations are standard — not edge cases
- ✓Residents stay 1–3 years — per-unit VLAN essential from day one
- ✓Single operator manages whole building — clear IT accountability
MDU
May be existing stock, lighter amenities
- —Can be existing building being upgraded — retrofit constraints apply
- —Amenity provision varies — some MDUs are purely residential
- —Smart-building integration still required but proptech stack lighter
- —Same per-unit VLAN requirement — bandwidth scale can be larger
Co-living
Shorter stays, community-first, app-driven
- —Shorter stays (weeks to months) — closer to hospitality tenure
- —Community app and amenity booking tech heavier than pure BTR
- —Wi-Fi must handle hotel-density communal zones alongside private rooms
- —Often no traditional PMS — property ops software varies widely
BTR clients
BTR developments we’ve worked on
Large-scale BTR deployments with full IT infrastructure — from specification through construction, commissioning and ongoing managed support.
Realstar Group — Wembley
500+ units, full IT infrastructure
Realstar Group — Deptford
500+ units, full IT infrastructure
Realstar Group — Leeds
500+ units, full IT infrastructure
Start here
Free IT review for your BTR development
Whether you’re at RIBA Stage 2 with a new-build or reviewing the IT estate of a live development, a senior engineer will review your specification against best practice for your unit count, amenity provision and proptech stack.
Same-business-day response from a senior engineer.