Ban Landlords from Buying New-Build Properties

Landlords should be banned from buying new-build properties and have less access to buy-to-let lending to address the wealth gap between them and their tenants, a thinktank has suggested.  The Strategic Society Centre said there was a huge disparity between private landlords and tenants, which threatened to undermine the government's attempts to help new homebuyers by boosting the supply of new homes. The SSC's analysis of the sector, based on official figures, found that private sector landlords tended to be wealthier than the general population, with an average of £75,103 held in savings, bonds and other investments. In contrast, private renters had an average wealth of £9,506. While 50% of landlords had accrued wealth of up to £20,500, the same proportion of tenants had just £398.  Read more on the Guardian website.