Budget 2020: ‘Government should backtrack on landlord taxes’

Many within the property industry are hoping the government will backtrack on its strategy of increasingly taxing landlords in next week’s Budget on March 11.

Next week’s Budget is the first for Boris Johnson and new Chancellor Rishi Sunak, after Sajid Javid resigned last month.

Asaf Navot, chief executive of London prop-tech lettings company, Home Made, said: “The government should focus on increasing the housing supply by reducing taxation to encourage more landlords into the market and incentivise developers to build more homes to meet rising demand.

“Additionally, it is imperative that we reduce the transition of long-term rentals to short-term lets to avoid impacting the rental market further.”

However he admitted: “It is unlikely that this Budget will offer much in the way of immediate relief from taxation for landlords.”

Landlords have had to cope with changes including the 3% stamp duty surcharge and the reduction in mortgage interest tax relief.

Paul Howells, chief executive of property development firm Accumulate Capital, said: ““This Budget will reveal if the new government is going to change its approach.

“I want the government take a step back and consider what the most effective methods are in addressing pressing issues like housing affordability and supply.

“Ultimately, targeting landlords will not, in isolation, resolve these problems. Instead, if the government wants to rebalance supply and demand in the property market it needs to ensure more new residential developments are built across the UK – lots of them.

“To achieve this, Chancellor Rishi Sunak must make spending commitments as well as making life easier for developers, which includes assessing their access to finance and reviewing planning regulations.”