Property & Development Magazine Issue 427 | Page 3

GENERAL MANAGER:
KENNETH BOOTH
MAGAZINE MANAGER:
JODY GREAVES

EDITORS
COMMENT

FEATURE MANAGERS:
VAUGHAN WILKS
ANDLIB PERWEZ
EDITOR:
CIARAN JAROSZ
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR:
DANIEL STEPHENS
ART EDITOR:
STACEY BEARDSLEY
DESIGNERS:
CARLA TAYLOR
SAM DICKINSON
NATALIA WYSOCKA
JOURNALISTS:
JEFF SENIOR
HAYLEY TOTH
JESSICA SANSOME
HOLLY MOLNAR
PRODUCTION:
VICKI LINDSAY
LISA POLLINGER
REBECCA SCOTT
ACCOUNTS:
NICK CHARALAMBOUS
HASAN RIAZ
PROPERTY AND DEVELOPMENT
IS PUBLISHED BY: PAD LTD,

Put the brakes on buy-to-let boom
A Treasury committee meeting this month, convened to address concerns arising from the booming
buy-to-let market, saw one of the central bank’s advisors Martin Taylor expressing “mild concern”, saying that the relatively new market (it was introduced in the mid-1990s) needed carefully looking at.
His concerns were supported by Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the booming buyto-let market, resulting from the housing shortage in London and the south east, required “heightened
security” to mitigate against its detrimental impact on the UK’s economic recovery.
The increase in buy-to-let lending has grown sharply in recent years with a lack of housing driving up
prices and rents. It’s an attractive proposition for investors with the Council of Mortgage Lenders
(CML) revealing a 30% leap in the value of buy-to-let lending for new house purchases over the year to
November 2015.
Ahead of Chancellor George Osborne’s tax relief changes in April, there has been a rush of buy-to-let
activity in time to catch the current financial year. Osborne has scrapped a relief that allowed investors
to offset interest payments against income tax bills while the introduction of new stamp duty rates will
see 3% attached to all additional properties.
Carney revealed the Bank of England had been looking at the issue for some time and that a review of
underwriting standards in the buy-to-let mortgage sector would stamp out any weaknesses. The Bank
is also keen to assess the impact of Osborne’s new tax changes when they come into play.

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