NEWS: Rules and regulations
It's been a turbulent time for the rental industry of late, with new rules coming into force that could make a significant impact on the market. The recent additional 3% stamp duty on second homes, for instance, has been followed by a regulation (first announced in the summer budget) that landlords won't be able to deduct 'wear and tear' from rental receipts before income tax is applicable. Some pundits believe that both of these measures will push up the price of rents; and one survey found that the stamp duty rise on second homes would discourage three-quarters of landlords from buying more properties.
In other headlines, the National Audit Office has found that The Green Deal — the government's energy-saving programme that folded last July — cost taxpayers £240million, but failed to deliver 'meaningful benefit' on energy and carbon emissions. Only 14,000 households took out Green Deal loans.
NEWS: Did George blow his budget?
It's probably fair to say that George Osborne's budget wasn't a resounding success. In fact, there was so much fall-out from it — namely the Iain Duncan-Smith resignation — that it was easy to forget that some of what the Chancellor said at the dispatch box had significant implications for the property market.
For instance, landlords reacted with dismay to the announcement that residential property sales would be exempt from cuts to the rate of capital gains tax (CGT). And if anyone thought the Government would U-turn on the introduction of higher rates of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on purchases of buy-to-let properties and second homes, they were disappointed. In fact, it's been reported that the number of buy-to-let mortgages increased recently as landlords rushed to beat the changes (a 3% surcharge on stamp duty) that came in on 1 April…
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