Summer Budget 2015 – Landlords Reactions

I don't like the look of this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-26875875

If they interpret BTLs as 'second homes' (they've bunched them in together for the SDLT hike) this would be terrible for the PRS in Wales and will also give the idiots at Westminster ideas.

And Plaid Cymru, trying to take it even further. Reminds me of Siobhain McDonagh - an outrageous policy is introduced, which wrongfoots the left-wingers so they have to say they would go even further. Pathetic.

The rationale is interesting though - as holiday lets are obviously a less efficient use of housing than residential lets - but it is probably the case that often people have converted barn etc and therefore created those holiday homes rather than 'stolen' them from the locals. Where they have bought ready houses from the locals I imagine those locals have made a packet from the sale. And then the owners get blamed for having paid all that money...

We live in strange times.

.Whoops. I just noticed this is an old story - someone told me this morning that it was on the news this morning, so I'll have to find the correct reference.

Please ignore my earlier comments - as I've got the wrong reference - they might not show up anyway, as my comments are being 'marked as spam.'

Here is a more up-to-date reference, indicating I may have jumped the gun:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/second-home-owners-could-face-8615782

We all know this but thought this was a good article

http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/renting/the-accidental-landlord-removal-of-tax-aid-isn-t-fair-a99096.html

Reply to the comment left by "NW Landlord" at "22/02/2016 - 14:55":

Agreed NW Landlord. In fact I tweeted Victoria Whitlock to see if she'd mind me posting this and I was going to myself.

A report from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) states that first time buyer mortgage repayments are lower than average rents in every region of Britain, although this is not yet being translated into the desired increase in home ownership with factors including deposit affordability issues and tighter lending criteria also having an effect.

“Mortgage repayments are more affordable than ever, but the number of people moving into owner occupation has remained fairly flat even though paying down a mortgage is now cheaper than paying rent in every region of the UK” said Peter Williams, IMLA executive director.

The IMLA’s report also looks at the implications of the government’s changes to the buy to let sector, and the effects these are likely to have on buy to let lending and owner occupation trends over the next few years.

It says that in a tacit admission that its policy of stimulating new supply has failed to deliver on sufficient scale, government policy is now focused on sustaining levels of owner occupation through managing demand among buy to let landlords and second home owners, with a number of tax changes underway.

However, the IMLA argues that promoting home ownership without sufficient new supply can only succeed at the cost of a diminished social rented sector and a squeezed private rental sector with higher rents for tenants.

http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/uk-housing-market-report-2016021611563.html

At last, some sense coming out of the Treasury Committee!
Maybe people in the right places are starting to take notice....

"Housing Policy
Were the measures taken to curb buy-to-let to have a substantial effect, they would come at a cost to the wider economy. Access to a well-functioning, affordable housing market, including for private rented properties, has been widely recognised to be crucial to labour mobility, and hence the overall efficiency of the labour market. Labour, Conservative and Coalition governments have for decades recognised the crucial importance of maintaining confidence in the buy-to-let sector, perhaps aware of the damaging, unintended consequences of the heavy-handed regulatory interventions by both Labour and Conservative governments of the 1950s and 60s. Any impediment to labour mobility will reduce employment, economic activity, and the economy's long-run productive potential. (paragraph 123)

The Committee is concerned about the focus of the Government's housing policy. Addressing the "home ownership crisis" must not come at the expense of a shortage of homes to rent. The Chancellor should make clear what he intends to do to help those who want or need to rent, and to ensure a healthy supply of properties in the private rented sector. (paragraph 124)"

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/treasury-committee/news-parliament-2015/spending-review-and-autumn-statement-report-15-16/

This one looks fun:

http://m.bma.org.uk/news-views-analysis/news/2016/february/junior-doctors-fight-against-imposition-begins

Extract: 'The judicial review is being sought because of the apparent failure of health secretary Jeremy Hunt to undertake an EIA (equality impact assessment) prior to its decision to force new terms and conditions on junior doctors in August.'

We submitted a critique of the woefully inadequate impact statement accompanying Clause 24, which can be seen here:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmpublic/finance/memo/fb58.htm

There are so many grounds for a Judicial Review of Clause 24. it's unreal.

The full list of responses is on
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/housingandplanning/committees/houseofcommonspublicbillcommitteeonthehousingandplanningbill201516.html

Meanwhile in Scotland...

http://m.heraldscotland.com/news/14296836.John_Swinney_warned_over_extra_charge_for_buy_to_let_and_second_homes/

"Mr Swinney's move followed a similar decision by Chancellor George Osborne in November's UK Autumn Statement.

Labour MSP Jackie Baillie pointed out that the House of Commons Treasury Committee was "not enamoured at all" with the supplement south of the border and questioned what would happen if the move was delayed in the rest of the UK.

She said: "There is a very strong suggestion coming from them there should be no rush to implementation because of the complexity and because of the possibility of unintended consequences.

"They also feel it would actually be detrimental to the buy-to-let property market and recognise the importance of this sector for labour mobility."

Ms Baillie added: "There are unintended consequences that we should be alive to and not simply just look narrowly at the principle and nothing else."

Conservative MSP Gavin Brown said: "It certainly appears clearly to me that both north and south of the border this measure is far more complex than first appeared when it was announced in the Autumn Statement."