What is the future of buy-to-let?

Representatives and stakeholders from various leading property industry bodies, including the National Landlords Association, British Property Federation, Department for Communities and Local Government, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Chapman Taylor, will meet later today (Friday 29 April) to discuss and outline policies designed to improve the buy-to-let sector.

A new stamp duty land tax surcharge aimed at private landlords, adding a hefty 3% to the up-front tax bill facing those buying investment homes, the scrapping of the wear and tear allowance, the introduction of Right to Rent checks and the reduction in tax relief for landlords from 2017, are among the various policy changes imposed on the buy-to-let sector recently and are issues that will undoubtedly be discussed today.

Carolyn Uphill (pictured), chairman of the NLA, said: “The private rented sector has grown considerably in recent decades, having gone from housing only one in 13 households in the early 1990s to more than one fifth of the population today.

“However, the expansion of the sector has not always been welcomed and calls for tighter regulation have become increasingly common.

“With government policy apparently moving towards discouraging investment in buy-to-let, the sector as we know it is likely to undergo many more changes in the coming years.

“The NLA hopes that this roundtable discussion will prompt a comprehensive and thoroughgoing programme of work to improve and aid better planning in private renting for the mutual benefit of everyone involved.”

A new study suggests that the private rented sector, which already plays a critical role within the housing system, looks set to grow over the next few years because we are becoming a nation of renters.