Have regulation changes in the PRS gone too far?

Well, perhaps for some as new research from Property Partner reveals that as many as 54% of BTL landlords are considering either reducing the size of their portfolio or selling all their buy-to-let properties due to the raft of changes in regulation over the past year.

Related topics:  Landlords
Warren Lewis
18th April 2018
regulations

According to the survey, over two thirds have had their finances negatively impacted by mortgage interest relief changes, 59% have been impacted by increased stamp duty on second homes, and 44% have been financially impacted by harsher mortgage affordability checks.

47% have therefore increased or are considering increasing rents to offset additional buy-to-let costs.

Rob Weaver, director of property at Property Partner, said: “One year on from the Government’s big shake-up of buy-to-let investing, the detrimental combination of increased stamp duty and the removal of interest relief offset is evidently taking its toll on landlords.

Our own research shows the mortgage interest relief changes have hurt landlords most, with nearly two thirds of landlords having had their finances negatively impacted by changes.

Far from making property more affordable and available to first time buyers, it’s becoming clear that the crackdown on buy-to-let landlords will hit the pockets of renters most. Nearly half of landlords are increasing rents in the face of new buy-to-let rules.

At a time when increasing numbers of people rely on the rented sector, the Government can no longer divert its attention from the real threat of a full-blown housing crisis. The only way to make the UK’s housing market more efficient is to stop fiddling with demand-side policies and hold the government to account on its promise to build 300,000 new homes per year for the next ten years.”

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