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London landlords sell up properties at record rates ahead of anticipated tax hikes

www.cnbc.com London landlords sell up properties at record rates ahead of anticipated tax hikes

London landlords are selling up their buy-to-let properties at record rates as anticipated tax hikes add further pressure to the once lucrative investment sector.

London landlords are selling up their buy-to-let properties at record rates as anticipated tax hikes from the U.K. Labour government add further pressure to the once lucrative investment sector.

Almost one-third (29%) of homes currently for sale in the capital were previously rented out, data published on Thursday by property portal Rightmove showed.

The spike mirrors a wider uptick in rental property sales across the U.K., where 18% of all nationwide listings were previously tenanted, according to Rightmove.

Rightmove said it was not yet clear that the figures pointed to a "mass exodus" by landlords, but rather to a gradual decline in the appeal of the buy-to-let sector. The previous five-year average of former rental listings for sale was 14%, while the proportion of ex-rental properties on the market in 2010 was 8%, Rightmove said.

It highlighted that it expected tax hikes in Finance Minister Rachel Reeve's forthcoming Oct. 30 Autumn Statement — including a possible increase in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) — to become a "potential driver" of the increased sales.

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5 comments

  • I also hope they find a way to force owners of empty houses to sell them on. They interviewed a guy on the radio whose job it was to map empty houses and he reckons there are more of them than there are families looking for a home. Making them available would go a long way to solving the housing crisis and taking some of the heat out of the market.

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    • It's really not hard to find a way, extremely high taxes on any property vacant for more than 182 days in a year. With our current system I think you effectively get a tax discount for vacant properties. (obviously there would have to be exceptions for people in hospital/prison/etc, but the principle is sound)

      What they need to find is the will to do it.

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  • Would be nice if the long-term residents were offered mortgages.

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  • Good.

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  • I live in fear of my landlord selling my home. I live in fear of my landlord hiking my rent. She lives in a mansion with a pool.

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