The Buy-to-Let market and the Budget

Ian Potter, operations manager of the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA), said:
“The planned rise of Capital Gains Tax may not be as extreme as many had anticipated, but it still comes with little consideration for the needs of landlords. The Chancellor risks driving those landlords paying the higher rate of tax from an already very fragile housing market, at a time when they should be actively encouraged to stay and, ideally, further invest.The Private Rented Sector represents an extremely important part of the housing market, providing much-needed flexible and affordable housing to the UK. With this rise in CGT, the Government is taking a huge risk in destabilising the future supply of homes to the UK”
 
On the other hand the much more optimistic Andy Young, Chief Executive Officer at Landlord Centre says 'Although the hike in CGT will be a disappointment to wealthier buy-to-let investors it is unlikely to have any significant detrimental effect on the buy-to-let market overall. The fact remains that most residential property investors are in the market for the medium to long term and they seek returns through rental yields as well as capital gains.  
'The group most likely to be put-off by the new CGT regime is short-term property speculators who are looking to cash in on the house price index. Most of these, however, have already exited the market. Professional landlords are unlikely to be deterred from maintaining and expanding their portfolios as buy-to-let property is still generating good income and remains a viable medium to long term investment offering competitive returns.'

Are you a buy-to-let landlord and will you be put off making further investments? Let us know!