With less than one week to go until the Autumn Budget, online buy-to-let mortgage broker Property Master has urged the Chancellor to “press the reset button” on the Government’s relationship with private landlords.
Angus Stewart, the firm’s Chief Executive, insists: “Philip Hammond’s Budget on November 22nd is an opportunity for the Government to press the reset button on the relationship between the state and an increasingly significant private rental sector. The private rented sector has doubled since 2004. Some of these landlords have fallen into this marketplace, perhaps by failing to sell their first home but needing to move. Others, though, have seen the potential of supplementing their income or funding their retirement through buy-to-let.
“Recent changes from this Government have served to strengthen this demarcation between the accidental landlords and those who see property rental as more central to their livelihood. The introduction of tighter lending requirements on buy-to-let, tapering tax relief on mortgage interest and now increased interest rates will impact the unintentional or relatively unsophisticated landlord. Increased costs and increased red tape may lead to many choosing to exit the market. What we are seeing is the greater professionalisation of the buy-to-let market and, in some respects, that may be no bad thing.”
He continues: “So, my hope for the Budget is that Philip Hammond sees the private landlords who have chosen to make a strategic investment as part of the solution to the housing crisis, rather than part of the problem. I would like to see tax being used as a carrot and not just a stick, for example, if the Government wants more secure, family friendly tenancies, then why not offer tax incentives to landlords that choose to provide such agreements? Similarly, tax relief could be used to encourage landlords to improve properties, for example, make them more energy efficient. Finally, the Government could encourage landlords who do want to sell properties to sitting tenants by applying the new 20% rate of Capital Gains Tax in such circumstances, which would also be in line with the Government’s homeownership ambitions.”
Our writer Rose, on behalf of our partner site Just Landlords, offers her thoughts on the upcoming Budget announcement: http://bit.ly/2yKpxrd
What are you expecting Philip Hammond to reveal next week?