The Section 24 parliamentary petition, seeking to persuade MPs to reinstate mortgage interest tax relief for landlords, has fallen far short of its 100,000 target.

The petition, from Midlands landlord Simon J Foster, urged the government to reverse the Section 24 tax change. 

It closed yesterday with only just over 40,000 signatures; had it won 100,000 signatures it was expected to have triggered a parliamentary debate on the issue.

Before Section 24 was introduced in 2017, landlords were able to deduct mortgage interest from their income tax – at that time it was also possible to offset mortgage application fees and some other loans. 

Now tax is payable on all rental income upfront, even if – combined with an income from a traditional job – it moves the landlord into a higher tax bracket. Instead, landlords now have only a basic rate reduction from their income tax liability for their finance costs of 20 per cent.

Some months ago the government made an official written response to the petition, insisting its tax policy was fair and had to be seen not only in the context of landlords but as part of tax policy across the housing market.