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Third of landlords planning to sell off homes in new year – RLA

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  • 20/12/2019
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Third of landlords planning to sell off homes in new year – RLA
Over a third of private landlords are planning to exit the market altogether or cut the number of homes they rent out over the next year, according to a new survey of 2,037 landlords.

 

The 34 per cent of landlords who said they intended to reduce their investment in the market is a 30 per cent increase on those who said the same 12 months ago, according to the research conducted by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).  

This year, 19 per cent of landlords have sold property compared to the 12 per cent who have purchased. Just 12 per cent of landlords are looking to expand the number of homes they rent out, down from 14 per cent a year ago.  

 

Stamp duty review

Some 45 per cent of landlords told the RLA that the stamp duty levy on additional properties had been a deterrent to further investment in property, however 54 per cent said this would change if reforms were made to make investment “more attractive”.

The RLA is calling on the government to scrap the stamp duty levy where landlords provide homes adding to the net supply of housing.  

The association said this should include developing new build properties, bringing empty homes back into use and converting larger properties into smaller, more affordable units of accommodation.  

As for other tax changes, 27 per cent of landlords said they were forced to increase rents as a result of the changes to mortgage interest tax relief while 13 per cent said they would leave the sector altogether once the update fully came into force in April.

David Smith, policy director for the RLA, said: “This is yet more clear evidence of the sell-off of private rented housing largely due to the government’s extra tax on new rental homes.  

With a new government and a budget due, we need a shift in policy to one that supports investment because otherwise there will be a growing supply crisis in the private rented sector as demand continues to rise.” 

 

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