Campaign against buy to let 'tax grab' extends fund-raising deadline

The landlords campaigning for a judicial review of the legislation curtailing mortgage interest tax relief for buy to let landlords have extended their fund-raising deadline until the end of August.

Steve Bolton and Chris Cooper, the two landlords mounting the challenge, say section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015 includes the proposed restriction of mortgage interest tax relief at a basic rate, even for higher rate-paying landlords, and regard this as an infringement on buy to let investors’ rights. 

Thousands of landlords and others backing their campaign attended a London rally earlier this month, which saw a £10,000 donation from the National Landlords’ Association. However, the campaigners say they may require as much as £250,000 in total to fund the review, if it is given the go-ahead in the near future. 

So far the crowdfunding appeal has raised just under £107,000. Some weeks ago its deadline was extended until the end of June - now it has been further extended until the end of August.

A statement from the landlords says: “Our core aim is to abolish Section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015, which in our view is a tenant tax. This ludicrous legislation will in our view result in rents for affordable homes increasing substantially, extreme pressure being put onto private landlords and providers of social housing and ultimately, even greater numbers of people being made homeless. This is about the future of the UK housing market and those who depend upon it. It is also about the way that small businesses are taxed and allowed to deduct their costs before calculating their taxable profits.”

You can see the fundraising page here.