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The Residential Landlords’ Association (RLA) wants the Chancellor to make provision for private landlords in the upcoming budget. It says that the government needs to do more to support private landlords, who now provide homes for as many as one fifth of households in the UK.
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Statement from the RLA
“Whilst the private rented sector is the only housing sector to be growing, much more action is needed to boost the supply and quality of homes available to rent and keep rent levels down.
“Our recommendations would help unlock the enormous potential for the army of individuals who rent out property to expand and create more homes and through this, they will be feeding more resources back to the Treasury.”
The main points of the RLA submission:
• No to Rent Reforms – The RLA argues that rent reforms are a bad idea and that index linking rents will leave tenants worse off.
• Taxation Reform – The RLA proposes that property rental should be treated differently for taxation purposes. One way of doing this would be to allow individual landlords to benefit from CGT rollover relief when they sell a property.
• Small Plots of Vacant Land – There are numerous small plots of public sector land sitting idle because larger property investors are not interested. The RLA thinks that the government could make these available to smaller landlords so that small numbers of properties can be developed for rental purposes.
• Planning Reforms – The RLA believes that many local authorities are abusing their planning powers—specifically Article 4 Directions—to restrict the numbers of HMOs in their boroughs. The RLA points out that HMOs provide essential housing options for younger people, particularly those on a low income. They feel that more of this type of housing is needed to forestall a future housing crisis.
