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Osborne Plans Further Crackdown on Buy-to-Let
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Chancellor George Osborne is planning to further crack down on the buy-to-let sector, with immediate effect.
Osborne Plans Further Crackdown on Buy-to-Let
The new measures would follow new proposals announced earlier this month, to abolish the wear and tear allowance and restrict tax relief on the interest of buy-to-let mortgages.
Osborne has revealed to the Treasury Select Committee that the Bank of England (BoE) could be given radical new powers.
These include the BoE’s control over the number and size of buy-to-let mortgages.
The BoE has cautioned that the buy-to-let boom could affect the financial stability of the country.
Osborne claimed to have already asked BoE Governor, Mark Carney, for a consultation.
On a timescale, Osborne said: “I think the next couple of months. I have just written a letter [to Carney]. It’s all imminent. It’s happening this year.”1
This follows the Residential Landlords Association’s (RLA) evaluation of the measures already announced.
The RLA says that as a direct result of the Chancellor’s Budget, 65% of landlords are now considering increasing their rents.
It also attacks Osborne for stating that landlords are currently taxed more fairly than homeowners.
RLA Chairman, Alan Ward, said that this is wrong, as homeowners are not taxed on capital gains like landlords.
He adds: “The belief that landlords should be compared to homeowners is like comparing apples with pears. The two are vastly different. It’s time the Treasury recognised residential landlords as a business.”1
1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/osborne-poised-for-imminent-new-crackdown-on-buy-to-let/
