Richard Blanco

The dust has settled on George Osborne’s budget, well at least most of it, the political fallout of Ian Duncan-Smith’s resignation, I suspect, has only just begun.   The chancellor says his government wants to “tax the things it wants to reduce, not the things it wants to encourage.”  Having increased stamp duty on purchases by landlords and reduced Capital Gains Tax for everybody except landlords, his position on those of us providing 19% of the UK’s housing stock is clear – we are not welcome.  […]

Predictably the first quarter of this year is seeing a flurry of sales to landlords and investors before the 3% stamp duty surcharge comes into effect on 1 April.  Buy To let lending was up 22% year on year for the month of January 2016. Unless you’re a cash buyer with an expensive solicitor, you’ve left it too late now to complete before the deadline, realistically offers to buy had to be accepted by the end of January at the latest.  The big question now […]

We had a great debate at an NLA meeting in Tower Hamlets in the heart of London’s East End last Thursday, reflecting on the recent tax changes and their broader impact on the Private Rented Sector.  My hypothesis is that the 3% SDLT surcharge which the chancellor is levying on landlords from 1 April 2016 and the restrictions on mortgage interest tax relief from 2017 will deter future investment and prompt some landlords to sell.  Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA said that […]

George Osborne has unveiled another punishing tax increase for landlords in his Autumn spending review.  Purchases of second homes or properties to let will be subject to a stamp duty surcharge of 3%.  A £275,000 property which currently attracts stamp duty of £3,750 will now cost £12,000 in tax, according to the National Landlords Association.  Inevitably this measure will hit London landlords particularly hard where the average house price is £459,906 and 3% of that is an extra £13,797.  This increase is grossly unfair, landlords […]

Many in the landlord community viewed Ed Milliband’s proposals for the private rented sector with derision and after a short post election honeymoon period we have been digesting surprise tax changes from George Osborne’s Summer budget.  Next the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader, described by party heavyweight Lord Faulkner as “a political earthquake.”  In the run up to the May 2015 election National Landlords Association colleagues and I jousted through a string of media interviews rebutting proposals for increased regulation.  I remember […]