Landlords should be offered more support, claims peers

The Government must do more in order to support buy-to-let landlords, starting by changing tax increases, according to industry peers.

Since the 3% stamp duty increases, alterations to mortgage interest tax relief and other changes, there has been a substantial drop in the number of buy-to-let transactions. A number of would-be investors have been deterred by the alterations.

Concerns

Jenny Mayes, of Simple Landlords Insurance has called on the Chancellor Philip Hammond to listen to the concerns of landlords.

She noted: ‘Landlords should be supported and recognised for their contributions in providing affordable housing, rather than burdened with unfair tax measures that will see them having to take considerable cuts to their income and being forced to pass some of this to their tenants.’[1]

A survey conducted by Simple Landlords this month discovered that landlords’ biggest wish for the New Year is for the Government to alter its stance on buy-to-let tax relief on mortgage interest payments.

Landlords should be offered more support, claims peers

Impact

Bevan Smith, director of BPM Estates, observed: ‘2017 is going to be an interesting year and I think we are yet to really see how potential changes are going to impact the rental market. Brexit and the US elections aside, it is likely to be changes to landlord taxes and mortgages that will really influence the market place.’[1]

‘Investing in residential property is becoming increasingly expensive and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see landlords sell parts of their portfolio. This could be good news for the buyer-occupier market, but will likely mean less supply for the rental market, which could in turn lead to higher rents,’ she added.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/1/landlords-should-be-supported-rather-than-burdened-with-unfair-tax-measures