The government should tax property ‘hoarders’ cashing in on the UK housing market says a left-leaning think tank.
A report by the New Economics Foundation and the Homes for Us Coalition estimates that up to £5.7 billion a year could be raised through higher stamp duty and by closing national insurance tax loopholes allegedly open to wealthy UK property hoarders.
The groups claim that trebling the additional homes stamp duty surcharge to nine per cent for multiple homeowners and six per cent for non-resident house buyers, as well as closing the apparent NI loophole, could raise up to £5.7 billion and fund 31,000 new social homes annually.
Alex Diner of the New Economics Foundation, says: "Some buy-to-let landlords have been hit as interest rates have risen, but equity rich speculators have been cashing in and hoarding property within our broken housing system.
"The rental market is broken, with too many families forced to pay extortionate rents. Higher interest rates have not led to a mass exodus of landlords from the market.
“But the fact that some now wish to sell is a huge opportunity for social landlords and first-time buyers to take these homes off their hands. But this is being squandered. If you're a first-time buyer hit by mortgage hikes, you probably feel stung right now by cash buyer landlords who can swoop in and undercut on price.
"We should tax property speculators more to curb their buying power and use the money to build more social homes. It's also time we closed the tax loopholes that mean most landlords don't pay national insurance on their property income.
"Ordinary families are struggling pay rent during this cost-of-living crisis. Higher stamp duty on debt free property speculators would level the playing field for renters and first time buyers, raise billions and help ease our chronic social housing shortage."
NEF claims that two-fifths of landlords have no borrowing but it alleges that as rents spiked during the cost-of-living crisis these debt-free landlords are likely to have seen their incomes significantly boosted.
The report also claims that the number of UK properties owned by overseas residents tripled from 60,366 in early 2010 to 181,701 by summer 2021.
As of July 2022, non-UK residents owned £90.7 billion of property in England and Wales, £45.3 billion of which is in London.
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Interesting article. If only Osbourne had had the brains to do it this way instead of section 24, this would have been a far better way to raise funds from Landlord's and with NI contributions acknowledge that we are a business.
That said to do this now would be madness, unless of course you repealed that which has been done already.
It is ridiculous to pay NI on property income. They call LL's investors but they forget the service we provide. The investors in shares do not provide any service or have to physically work for the companies they have shares in. They do not have to follow any government legislation or guidelines. They either treat the LL's as a business and remove s24 with all legislations and guidelines or treat us as investors without all the legislation like banning of s21. Guidelines to safeguarding of tenants is totally understandable.
Tripling stamp duty funds will just go into a rabbit hole. The government cannot manage money. The 3% stamp duty that LL's paid for buying additional properties was to go towards helping people to get on a property ladder. This has not worked out well. Right to buy has made money for the developers, who have made more money out of it than the benefit to the buyers.
"Property hoarder". What is that? People who invest in property to provide homes for those that don't have the means to own their own property, thus providing a much needed service to the whole of society.
You can’t have it both ways. This article says gov should raise stamp duty hugely to deter landlords and stop them buying more properties. But if they don’t buy, they won’t pay any stamp duty at all, never mind the quoted £5.7 billon which will apparently be raised out of thin air for social housing. This think tank needs to think again.
This is typical thinking without thinking it through. As Nic Kaz says, they're quoting 5.7 billion extra without considering that at 9% SDLT, many investors won't buy at all! I don't know why, but I never fail to be amazed at the ideas that come from political and econmoic "experts", (and I use the term loosely), never really consider the consequences of their actions.
Out of touch with reality they are living in cloud Cuckoo land.
What landlord is going to be buying with tribal Stamp duty or even with single stamp duty like other buyers either.
Certainly not me so sorry for ever having bought or built any property to house others.
What on Earth for to be abused, taxed to the eye balls, criminalised, hated & despised by Authorities for housing so many over the last 45 years.
The stink tank needs to think again they’ll be lucky to get £57. let alone £5.7b landlords have lost the will to live.
To add to our woes here in Wales, the communists down at The Bay are considering a freeze on rent increases and evictions through the winter months to help with the cost of living crisis.
It is pretty clear now that we really don't actually have control of our properties anymore.
We have what I call 'barmy policy of the week'.
There will no doubt be something else along next week.
You really couldn't make it up.
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