"It is our view that these policies are undermining the viability of many landlords’ businesses and removing the incentives to invest in residential property for business purposes."
The NLA believes this is due to recent tax changes including the withdrawal of mortgage interest relief for higher and additional rate tax payers, the 3% surcharge on additional property purchases, and the banning of upfront letting fees.
The NLA says landlords and tenants will "pay more than their fair share in tax as a result of changes made by the Government to curb buy-to-let activity in the private rented sector".
Richard Lambert, CEO of the National Landlords Association, said: “The Government needs to look at the impact these policies will have on the PRS.
“More and more people are relying on this sector for a home, so it is vital that landlords not only provide a high standard of accommodation, but are incentivised to do so by the prospects of a reasonable return on investment.
“It is our view that these policies are undermining the viability of many landlords’ businesses and removing the incentives to invest in residential property for business purposes.”
Simon Heawood, CEO and Founder of Bricklane, commented: “We will see steadily increasing outflows from the buy-to-let market, in favour of a continual consolidation of portfolios around professionalised, large scale landlords, who in turn benefit from scale advantages, tax-efficiencies, and professionalised approaches to investing and driving up tenant service provision.
“A perfect storm is brewing for landlords looking to property simply as a financial asset. Policy makers across the political spectrum are acknowledging that home ownership is valuable because it affords permanence and security, and not just for the financial returns which placated constituents of yesteryear.”
