Reverse The Tax Threat – major agency backs petition

Reverse The Tax Threat – major agency backs petition


Todays other news


A high profile lettings agency has backed a petition demanding the reinstatement of tax relief for landlords.

Benham and Reeves says it wants the full amount of mortgage interest to be set against rental income before tax is calculated. 

Tax credits, which came into force as of April 2020, resulted in landlords no longer being able to deduct any of their mortgage interest from their rental income when calculating the taxable profits of their investment. 

Instead, a 20 per cent tax relief on mortgage interest payments was implemented, a change that has severely reduced the profitability of buy to let investing. There’s also been a string of other legislative changes such as a stamp duty surcharge on additional homes and, more recently, changes to Capital Gains Tax allowances. 

The petition is nearing 20,000 signatures and can be found at: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/627785 

“Rather than commit to solving the housing crisis and build more homes, the government has looked to bring about a short term fix by forcing landlords to sell up and exit the buy to let sector. This has been orchestrated via a number of legislative changes designed to dampen the financial returns available to investors” explains the director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr. 

He says the consequence of this is a reduction in suitable rental properties – forcing up costs for tenants as the stock shortage worsens nationwide.

He continues: “While the Build to Rent sector certainly fills a need in the modern market, the government would be ill-advised to pin all of its hopes on this emerging market. Build to Rent rental values are considerably higher than those found within the wider private rental sector and so the average tenant simply can’t afford them. 

“We’re urging the government to reconsider just one of their recent changes and allow landlords to once again deduct their mortgage interest from their rental income and we’re not alone. A survey of our landlord base found that 73 per cent of those who have plans to exit the sector would refrain from doing so if these changes were reversed.

“It’s time the government realises that the nation’s landlords are the backbone of the private rental sector, but it’s simply not realistic to expect them to play such a vital role if it’s not financially viable.”

Share this article ...

Join the conversation: Login and have your say

Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions. All comments are screened using specialist software and may be reviewed by our editorial team before publication. Letting Agent Today reserves the right to edit, withhold or delete comments that violate our guidelines, including those that harass, degrade, or intimidate others. Users who post such content may be banned from commenting.
By commenting, you agree to our Commenting Terms of Use.
2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Recommended for you
Related Articles
The deal confirms a Sky News story reported last week...
The acquisition of two agencies had been hoped to boost...
Daisy McAndrew is to make her second appearance in front...
It's likely to come into effect in 2027...
A leading agent says there are renegotiations on prices of...
Reeves to slash Right To Buy discount on Wednesday...
Recommended for you
Latest Features
The regulation of Property Agents recommendations are back on the...
Black Brick says it's top rental search. bagged a London...
The owner's patch now covers a large swathe of Yorkshire...
Sponsored Content
Letting agencies face the dual challenge of keeping both landlords...
In an industry where compliance and client money handling are...
PropTech provider Reapit will announce the latest enhancement to its...

Send to a friend

In order to send this article to a friend you must first login. Click on the button below to login or sign up.

No one likes pop-ups ...
But while you're here