Landlords press Chancellor to scrap property tax to ‘create 1m homes’
Ben Beadle at the NRLA says Jeremy Hunt must "pull out all the stops" and use his Budget to scrap the stamp duty levy on additional homes.
Landlords are urging Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (main picture) to give the PRS a major boost in the Budget.
The NRLA says Hunt should scrap the three per cent levy on additional homes, which would lead to 900,000 new rented properties becoming available.
And increasing the supply of homes for private rent would boost the Government’s coffers to the tune of £10 billion, the NRLA says.
Supply crisis
The assessment follows the submission of NRLA’s proposals to the Government ahead of the Budget on 6 March, amidst a supply crisis in the rental market.
The NRLA uses analysis by Capital Economics which shows that scrapping would free up 900,000 additional rental properties, and increase tax receipts by £10 billion.
This is almost the equivalent of the entire £11.5 billion affordable homes budget for 2021-26.
Squeeze out
The Stamp Duty levy was introduced in 2016 by then Chancellor, George Osborne, who argued it would prevent landlords squeezing out families who want to become homeowners.
Research findings suggest that an average of 11 prospective tenants now make enquiries about every available property to rent.
The Chancellor needs to pull out all the stops to tackle the housing crisis.”
Ben Beadle, CEO of the NRLA, says: “The Chancellor needs to pull out all the stops to tackle the housing crisis.
“Growing the private rented sector is not only vital if tenant demand is to be met, but it would also provide a substantial boost to Treasury coffers, enabling it to invest in vital public services,” he says.
“It makes no sense to discourage investment in desperately needed private rented accommodation. Inaction will only result in more misery for prospective renters.”
