RIngley Group has hit back at the Labour Party after it claimed the stamp duty holiday was a £1.3bn “bung” to landlords.
The property tax was cut on purchases up to £500,000 until March 31 next year by Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) last week.
Mary-Anne Bowring, group managing director at property services company Ringley, said: “The criticism against Rishi Sunak for introducing a stamp duty holiday with claims that it offers a “huge bung” for buy-to-let landlords is unnecessary and misplaced.
“It could be argued that this is the first nice thing that a Conservative government has done for buy-to-let landlords in the past decade.
“Through reduced mortgage relief, higher stamp duty as well as new legislation such as the letting fees ban and right to rent checks, many landlords have effectively been squeezed out of the market in the mistaken belief they were preventing first-time buyers from getting on the property ladder by snapping up properties they would have otherwise bought.
“Given the number of households privately renting is set to grow over the coming years, increasing the supply of rental homes makes sense and the government should make clear whether this stamp duty holiday does apply to landlords to help drive activity and meet a growing long term housing need.”
She was responding to shadow housing secretary Thangam Debbonaire.
Debbonaire had said: “It is unacceptable that the Chancellor tried to sneak out this huge bung to second homeowners and landlords while many are desperate for support.
“He should be targeting support to those who need it, not helping people invest in buy-to-let properties and holiday homes.
“An unnecessary subsidy for second homeowners will only worsen the housing crisis by reducing the supply of homes overall.”
