For the last thirty years, the Government have passed the responsibility of housing the masses from local authorities (i.e. council housing) to the estimated 1.5 million British buy-to-let landlords.
However, since 2015/16, Lincoln landlords have faced increasing tax burdens as each year goes by, with the removal of mortgage interest rate relief on income tax (Section 24), the introduction of the 3% surcharge on stamp duty, and the reduction of the letting relief on capital gains tax.
My research has calculated the total income tax contribution by 3,416 Lincoln private landlords in the tax year 2015/16 was £8,915,158
Impact of Section 24 Removal
However, the eradication of higher rate mortgage interest relief (also known as Section 24) announced in 2015 by George Osborne has been estimated to add a further £1.9 billion nationally to landlord’s tax liability. Whilst raising money from landlords is an easy target, and the tax receipts attractive, it does make the landlords financial burden even heavier.
And by 2021/2, when the full extent of the Section 24 relief kicks in, that income tax liability will rise to £13,016,130 for those Lincoln landlords
This doesn’t even take into account additional liabilities such as Capital Gains Tax, the 3% additional duty on top of the prevailing Stamp Duty Land Tax and VAT.
Ambiguity and a lack of certainty is the foe of all investment, which has been seen with Brexit. With the pent-up demand released with the ‘Boris Bounce’, the last thing we need as a ‘collective’ property industry is for the Government to see landlords as a constant cash cow. This current government must acknowledge the value the majority of private landlords offer by housing in excess of 9.45 million people in the country.
Call for a Balanced Approach
Westminster needs to take a balanced approach to the significant issues of possession, especially with the recent changes relating to section 21 evictions, taxation and all rental properties needing to be at least an ‘E’ energy efficiency rating, to connect the value the private rented sector offers the country by effectively housing over a fifth of the population and avoid unintentional consequences by making renting a private rented property harder for the tenant, because, it’s not financially viable to buy (or retain) a buy-to-let property with the way things are going against the landlord.
