Speaking to Mortgage Solutions this week, when asked what the biggest challenge facing BTL landlords was, Stinton said his “initial thought” was to say taxation, but misinformation was probably the bigger issue. 

Stinton said: “[The threat is] landlords perhaps making judgement calls unadvised or ill-advised, listening to the scaremongers that are out there. 

“Landlords are going to be intelligent people. It’s their money. They want to make sure they do the right thing for not only their finances, but for tenants as well.” 

“I would absolutely encourage them all to go and speak to brokers, and make sure they’re making the right choices rather than having a gut reaction to one of the broadsheets that have said buy to let is dead and landlords are leaving in their droves. 

“I think misinformation is a big, big problem in the UK,” he added. 

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Speaking about the proposed Renters Rights Bill and concerns about the impact it would have, Stinton said there was no need to worry too much about the bill until the details were made known. 

He said: “I don’t believe for one second that the government wants to end private landlords. The government will absolutely understand that landlords play an essential part.” 

Stinton said in lieu of other investment types, property was still an important aspect of pension provision and planning, while the lack of social housing also meant private landlords played a key role in housing. 

 

The limited company trend 

Stinton said there was still a place for individual landlords in BTL, and suggested that while there was an increase in borrowing through limited companies, the cost of changing from private ownership to limited company ownership was “prohibitive for some”. 

“We might have a situation where we’ve got a really healthy limited company market for purchases while remortgages are done in individual names,” he added. 

He advised brokers not to “ignore [this] part of the market” by assuming all landlords would transition to a limited company structure. 

Ultimately, Stinton said brokers would remain key in the BTL market, adding: “There are lots of challenges that get presented to brokers every day, they are the solution finders. They are the ones who can help make this work for clients. 

“It’s disappointing to see the negative comments coming through because, yes, the market is challenging but it’s also very rewarding. 

“Brokers do a sterling job at trying to make sense of all this and help their clients.”