As a private landlord you have a crucial role in providing a much needed housing option for people and so why should you be penalised by an unfair stamp duty surcharge or the phasing out mortgage interest relief?

There has been a rise in the number of buy-to-let landlords selling up and quitting the private rented sector, various reports suggest, with tax and regulation changes cited as the main reasons why landlords are offloading properties.

“As more landlords see their profits eroded, and more legislation is in the pipeline, more landlords are likely to exit the market,” said Dorian Gonsalves, Belvoir’s chief executive.

Much of the reason for the fall in supply has been the decision to restrict mortgage interest relief to the basic rate of income tax and add a 3% levy on stamp duty for the purchase of additional homes, according to the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).

“The government should use taxation more positively and not penalise landlords who are contributing to badly needed homes to rent,” said David Smith, the RLA’s policy director.

A new report published yesterday by the RLA research exchange, PEARL, warns that the country faces a net loss of 133,000 homes for private rent over the next year.

This follows government figures showing that between March 2016 and March 2017 England saw a loss of 46,000 private rented homes.

Although the government has sought to support and encourage home ownership, the RLA’s figures, based on questioning over 2,600 landlords, reveal that 84% of landlords have seen tenant demand increasing or remaining stable.

Smith added: “The demand for private rental homes shows no signs of slowing up, despite efforts to encourage home ownership.

“The government was always mistaken to place homes to own and to rent in opposition to each other rather than seeking to supply more homes in all tenures.”

The Association of Residential Letting Agents has also found an increase in demand for private rented homes.

To help increase the supply of urgently required homes to rent the RLA is calling for the government to end its tax on new homes, starting with the scrapping of the 3% stamp duty levy.

The RLA’s policy director continued: “Corporate investors are failing to provide the new homes to rent at the pace and scale we need. They are also poorly equipped to meet the housing needs of towns and rural areas.

“The vast majority of landlords are individuals and small businesses, providing good housing to their tenants and supporting local economies. We need to support and encourage them to provide the long term homes to rent needed.”