Rise In Landlords Purchasing BTL Properties Through Limited Companies

Rising numbers of UK and international landlords are choosing to register as a limited company to manage their portfolios and to take advantage of sizeable tax benefits. Findings reveal that there were a record number of new limited companies set up in 2020, with 228,743 buy-to-let firms up and running. Last year, there were a total of 41,700 buy-to-let incorporations, an increase of 23 per cent on 2019. The numbers have more than doubled since 2016, rising 128 per cent, when tax changes for landlords were introduced. Read more on the Property Wire website.

Rise in Landlords Purchasing BTL Properties through Limited Companies - PropertyWire

Buy-To-Let Sales Boom

 Buy-to-let landlords are joining the rush to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday, with the proportion of property sales agreed with investors hitting its highest level in four years. In November, landlords made 15% of agreed property purchases in England, Wales, and Scotland, more than at any time since December 2016, according to research from the estate agent Hamptons. The Midlands and the north of England attracted the most attention from investors looking to add to their property portfolios. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/14/buy-to-let-sales-boom-as-landlords-rush-to-benefit-from-stamp-duty-holiday

Demand Rises For First-Time Buyer BTL Mortgages

New data from Legal & General Mortgage Club has revealed growing demand among first-time buyers who want to enter the buy-to-let market. Searches through its SmartrCriteria tool show that the criteria search combination for first-time buyer, first-time landlord and non-owner occupier has seen an 18% increase since the beginning of September. Searches for these applicants with these circumstances ultimately rose from fourth to first place. The data also showed that ‘holiday lets’ was the second most searched term among advisers in September, moving from the top spot in August. Read more on the Finance Reporter website.

https://www.financialreporter.co.uk/mortgages/demand-rises-for-first-time-buyer-btl-mortgages.html 

Repossession Looms For Buy To Let Investors Because Of Eviction Ban

Reduce buy to let regulation or face a worsening housing crisis - that’s the message from a leading property lawyer.  Mary Rouse, from Midlands law firm Wright Hassall, says unless some temporary legislation is revoked - especially the eviction ban - thousands of buy to let landlords will face possession action by their lenders. She says many landlords are under increasing pressure from lenders to start repayments on buy to let mortgages despite possibly receiving no rental income. Rouse says the inevitable consequence of this is that families will be made homeless and there will be fewer properties to let, with landlords either losing their properties to lenders or selling up. Read more on the Letting Agent Today website.

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2020/8/repossession-looms-for-buy-to-let-investors-because-of-eviction-ban

Buy-To-Let Landlords Urged To Act Fast Due To The Stamp Duty Holiday

Property investors have been urged to take advantage of Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty holiday by expanding their portfolios. Buy-to-let broker Mortgages for Business recommended for investors to buy quickly before the likes of second steppers are able to do the same. The cut could benefit sellers as much as buyers, as they could take advantage of increased demand to raise prices. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/buy-to-let-landlords-should-take-advantage-of-the-stamp-duty-holiday/

85% Of Buy-To-Let Lenders Still Lending

Some 42 of the 49 buy-to-let lenders operating at the beginning of March are still lending despite the impact of coronavirus, analysis from Mortgages for Business shows. Together Money and Vida Homeloans have both pulled out of the market, while HSBC is no longer accepting buy-to-let applications. However Santander, Clydesdale, Precise Mortgages and Kent Reliance have now restarted lending, after initially taking a step back. Shawbrook and Paragon meanwhile are using virtual valuations against standard properties up to 75% loan-to-value. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/85-of-buy-to-let-lenders-still-lending/

Buy-To-Let Payment Holiday

Payment holidays for landlords with buy-to-let mortgages are among a package of measures introduced by the government in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The payment holidays, for up to three months, will be offered on the understanding the benefit is to be passed on to the tenant. Read more on the RLA website.

https://news.rla.org.uk/coronavirus-buy-to-let-payment-holiday-and-eviction-ban-announced/

Government Announces Further Financial Support – Including Mortgage Holidays

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced a series of measures to support individuals and businesses during the coronavirus outbreak. This included the announcement that the Treasury has agreed with the body representing mortgage lenders, UK Finance, that lenders will support customers who are experiencing issues with their finances as a result of COVID-19 and the options include a payment holiday of up to three months. Although nothing has been guaranteed for buy-to-let customers, UK Finance have told us  that customers who are concerned about their current financial situation should get in touch with their lender at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss if this is a suitable option for them. Read more on the NLA website.

https://landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/government-announces-further-financial-support-including-mortgage-holidays

New Stamp Duty Charge Could Free Up Competition For UK Landlords

The property industry will be hoping that housing is a top priority in the upcoming Budget. One housing measure that is expected to get the green light is the move to introduce a 3% stamp duty surcharge on the purchase of homes by non-UK tax residents. The new surcharge is set to sit on top of the existing stamp duty amount for the property and the current 3% levy on the purchase of second homes or buy-to-let properties. This means many overseas investors will be hit with a sizeable tax bill when they buy property in England. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/hero/new-stamp-duty-charge-could-free-up-competition-for-uk-landlords.html

'Seismic' Tax Change To Hit BTL Landlords

Financial penalties due to ‘seismic’ changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) payment rules could heavily impact people selling buy-to-let properties. From April 6, anyone who disposes of a residential property giving rise to a capital gain on which CGT is payable will be required to make a digital return to HMRC and to pay an estimate of the CGT due within 30 days from the sale completing. People will also no longer be able to benefit from a possibly substantial sum of money remaining in their hands for up to 22 months after residential property disposal. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/seismic-tax-change-to-hit-btl-landlords.html

Landlords Name Their Top Cities For 2020 BTL Investment

A new survey of 800 UK landlords, commissioned by landlord insurance provider, Simply Business, has revealed which cities they are most keen to invest in during 2020. According to the study, which assessed the buy-to-let market, London and Manchester came out top as the cities where landlords expect the buy-to-let market to be most robust this year. Combined, the two cities received over a third of votes when asked which city represents the best investment opportunity. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/landlords-name-their-top-cities-for-2020-btl-investment.html

Buy-To-Let Business To Continue Growth Into 2020

UK bank, Paragon, has forecast that 2020 will see further increased activity from portfolio landlords and other complex buy-to-let business as recent tax changes continue to force landlords to look for more efficient ways to structure their business. According to Paragon’s Director of Sales, Moray Hulme, intermediaries will refocus on purchase business in the buy-to-let market, following a significant increase in the popularity of longer-term fixes since 2015 reducing remortgage opportunities. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/complex-buy-to-let-business-to-continue-growth-into-2020-claims-paragon.html

Rent Costs Hit Record High

The private rented sector has seen sharp rent increases due to the tenant fees ban, an outflow of landlords from the market, and Brexit uncertainty. The supply of rental accommodation increased in 2019, from 187 on average per branch in 2018, to 197 this year. As landlords continued to feel the pinch, the number of buy-to-let investors selling their properties remained high, at an average of four in 2019. In April, the figure spiked to five per branch. The number of tenants experiencing rent hikes hit a record high this year, rising from an average of 26 per cent each month in 2018, to 46 per cent on average this year. Read more on the ARLA website.

https://www.arla.co.uk/news/december-2019/prs-2019-trends/

Buy-To-Let Mortgages Stable Despite Slowdown In Market

Latest data has revealed an overall slowdown in mortgages despite the stability in the buy-to-let market with an expected further growth of 1 per cent in the next quarter. Paragon, a lender and savings bank, has recently published their Financial Adviser Confidence Tracking (FACT) Index for the latest quarter (Q3), which has recorded the average number of mortgages introduced in 2019, down 3 per cent in the second quarter, the lowest figure since 2017 - but despite this slowdown, the buy-to-let market has remained relatively stable. Read more on the ARLA website.

https://www.arla.co.uk/news/november-2019/buy-to-let-mortgages-stable-despite-slowdown-in-market/

Labour Could Give Private Tenants Chance To Buy Their Rented Homes

The Labour Party could bring in a radical “right to buy” scheme if it gains power at the next general election which could help millions of private tenants in the UK to buy their rented homes at a reasonable price, the shadow chancellor has suggested. John McDonnell is promoting the idea as a way to make it easier for workers to buy the homes they live in, while also tackling what he calls the “burgeoning buy-to-let market” and the problem of landlords who do not maintain their properties. The mooted scheme would echo Margaret Thatcher’s policy of the 1980s relating to government housing, under which millions of council tenants bought the property in which they lived. Read more on the East Lothian Chronicle website.

https://www.eastlothiancourier.com/news/national-news/17874228.labour-give-private-tenants-chance-buy-rented-homes/

Remortgaging Rises As Home Buyer Activity Slows In The UK

There was a rise of 8.3% in remortgaging in the UK in June 2019, with some 16,880 new mortgages completed in this sector of the lending market, the latest industry figures show. The data from UK Finance also shows that there were 32,760 new first time buyer mortgages completed in June 2019, down 1.5% fewer than in the same month in 2018 while there were 31,000 home mover mortgages, down 3.6% year on year. There were 5,300 new buy to let home purchase mortgages completed, down 3.6% that in the same month last year and there were 12,500 remortgages in the buy to let sector, down 0.8%. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/remortgaging-rises-as-home-buyer-activity-slows-in-the-uk/

Landlords Are Cautious Over Buy-To-Let

Less than a third of landlords would add to their buy-to-let portfolio over the next 12 months, research claims. A survey of 5,000 landlords, by letting agent Benham and Reeves, assessed sentiment in the property sector amid tax and regulatory changes. The majority (83 per cent) said they were unlikely to sell up this year, but just 28 per cent said they would consider investing in a property in the next 12 months. Half said they would consider expanding their portfolio within the next five years. Two thirds of landlords said the proposed changes to Section 21 notices made them more cautious about investing in a further property. Read more on the Arla website.

https://www.arla.co.uk/news/august-2019/landlords-are-cautious-over-buy-to-let/

Landlords ‘Struggling’ To Keep Up With Reforms

New research shows many landlords are struggling to keep up with new legislative and regulatory reforms introduced over the past year. An independent survey of 400 landlords found 30% do not understand the changes to House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licencing and 28% were unaware of the abolition of Section 21. 27% said they do not understand the tenant fees ban (June 2019) or how it may affect them. A quarter (25%) said they were not up to date with the latest changes to reduce tax relief on Buy To Let mortgage repayments. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/survey-shows-landlords-struggling-to-keep-up-with-reforms/

Two Thirds Of Landlords Remain Optimistic About BTL

According to new research commissioned by Cambridge & Counties Bank, 64% of UK landlords are optimistic about the outlook for the residential buy-to-let sector over the next three years despite Brexit worries. Of this, 13% are “very” optimistic in terms of investment growth and yields. The specialist property lender revealed that a significant number of landlords are using the current market volatility to grow their portfolios: 19% are looking to grow their portfolios by a third and 11% want to double it over the next three years. The research found that just 19% of landlords are looking to sell. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/two-thirds-of-landlords-remain-optimistic-about-btl-outlook-over-the-next-three-years.html

Major Bank To End ‘No DSS’ Private Landlord Mortgages

A major buy-to-let mortgage provider has said it will end rules meaning it does not lend to private landlords renting to people on benefits. Metro Bank made the announcement following a roundtable meeting with housing and homelessness minister Heather Wheeler in Downing Street. The government said the move could help thousands of families relying on benefits to access private rented housing. Property websites Rightmove and Zoopla have also agreed to ban ‘no DSS’ adverts from letting agent listings. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/major-bank-to-end-no-dss-private-landlord-mortgages-61874?utm_source=Ocean%20Media%20Group&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10631918_IH-DAILY-12-6-2019-GR&dm_i=1HH2,6BVN2,8CKJV9,P0FHN,1