One in five landlords hit by rising costs are considering selling up, with a stark divide between those with properties in the north and south of the country.
New data from Cornerstone Tax reveals that a staggering 52% of Brighton (pictured) landlords are thinking about exiting the market, compared with 26% and 22% in Leeds and Manchester respectively. In London, the number debating their move is 37%, and 33% in Birmingham, averaging out at 17% across the regions.
“We are generally seeing an exodus of landlords from the capital and South East, looking towards the North East of England instead,” Cornerstone Tax group chairman David Hannah explains.
“It’s a region that’s seen the highest growth in property prices in the last 12 months, with many seeing it as a much safer investment than the capital.”
Despite last week’s Autumn Statement offering some relief to landlords by way of the unfreezing of the local housing allowance, he argues that the roots of the current crisis remain largely unaddressed.
Hannah believes the strain could have been eased by removing the second home surcharge from bona fide private rental sector investors and giving them a reduction in their acquisition costs as well as reinstating full relief for mortgage interest payments.
“This double measure would have both reduced the costs of purchase, whilst allowing landlords to freeze, or even potentially cut, rents which have had to have both these penal measures ‘costed in’ over the last few years.”
Thousands of families are being forced into smaller properties to keep within their budgets, according to research from Dataloft, which found that in the first half of 2020, 57% of new tenancies signed by families on £30,000 to £70,000 a year were for homes with at least three bedrooms. In the same period this year, that had fallen to less than 51%.
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