05/01/2017
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•Half of landlords believe changes will cause a severe drop in available buy-to-let properties
•38 per cent intend to change voting intentions, with Labour the most popular alternative
•Survey of over 1,000 landlords carried out by Rentify is one of the largest of its kind
When George Osborne announced changes to buy-to-let property taxes and other areas of Britain’s property market in his Autumn Statement, he said he would be raising more than £1bn for the public purse – however what he may not realise is the impact it has had on Britain’s landlords and tenants.
New figures from Rentify – Britain’s fastest-growing estate agent – have revealed that over two thirds of UK landlords (70 per cent) believe rents for tenants living in buy-to-let properties will increase as a direct result of the changes, with less properties coming to the market.
More than 1,000 landlords from across the UK took part in the survey, and almost half (45 per cent) believe that – of the changes announced by Osborne in the Autumn Budget – the cap on tax relief for buy-to-let mortgages will have the biggest impact on their business, and the property market as a whole.
In fact, almost 38 per cent of landlords said they will be changing their voting intentions due to the announcements – with more than one in five (22 per cent) believing Labour are the party most likely to change things for the better.
Universally, Britain’s landlords expect Osborne’s changes to have a negative effect on the country’s property market. More than half (55 per cent) believe the changes will cause the value of landlords’ investments to fall considerably, with a similar amount – 53 per cent – also claiming they do not plan to expand their portfolio of buy-to-let properties any further in light of the changes.
One in five (20 per cent) said they plan to sell off all of their buy-to-let properties due to the changes and reinvest their money elsewhere – with 69% agreeing Osborne’s announcements will mean British tenants have less opportunities of homes to rent due to a lack of housing appearing on the market.
“Demand for rental homes already greatly outstrips supply,” said George Spencer, Chief Executive at Rentify. “Whilst Osborne believes his changes will have a positive impact on Britain’s finances, what he fails to see is the impact it will have on Britain’s renters – and with house prices on the rise and more people choosing to rent, this could have a long-term negative effect on the UK public.”
50 per cent of British landlords said they believe Osborne’s changes will cause a severe drop in supply and demand of buy-to-let properties, with one in three (35 per cent) believing landlords will find it much harder to sell their existing properties in future.
Rentify polled 1,007 British landlords over the age of 18 during November 2015, from its database of 175,000 active UK landlords.
Nicholas Graham, at Rentify
