Friday, 18 September 2015

Housing Stock – Parliamentary Written Answer

Philip Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the effect of changes to (a) tax relief to landlords and (b) regulations on buy to let mortgages on the number of homes (i) built and (ii) available to rent in the next five years.
Mr David Gauke: The Government expects the restriction to tax relief for finance costs for individual residential landlords to have a minimal impact on house building in the UK. Overall, the OBR believes the impact on the housing market will be small and, taking account of the other measures in the Summer Budget, have not adjusted their forecast for house prices. The Productivity Plan published alongside the Summer Budget includes a number of measures to make the planning system quicker, cheaper and more responsive to local housing needs.
HM Treasury expects a minimal impact on the supply of property in the private rented sector in the UK. The measure is expected to impact fewer than 1 in 5 landlords and will be introduced gradually from April 2017 over 4 years to give landlords time to adjust. The Budget also announced increased Rent a Room relief, which can help to increase levels of private rented accommodation. The Government is taking significant steps to support housing supply with housing starts now at a 7 year high.

Consumer buy-to-let mortgages will become regulated in March 2016 as part of the implementation of the EU Mortgage Credit Directive. However, independently verified government analysis suggests that approximately 86% of the market will remain unregulated, and that the costs imposed by this change are not of a sufficient scale to affect the supply of rental properties in the UK.

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