Osborne has resigned!

Will the tide start to turn in favour of landlords and their tenants?

Could we see the end of the “turnover” tax being proposed?

George Osborne has implemented a number of tax changes already impacting both landlord and ultimately tenant. However, the main one is still to come in 2017. He proposed taking away our ability to offset all mortgage/finance costs against rental income. This is a standard business practice and removing it will impact landlords and tenants across the country. With George Osborne out of the equation will this potentially result in a reversal of that law being implemented?

It is obviously too early to tell but given Theresa May’s speech earlier and wanting to unite us all, one would like to think common sense will prevail. This would ensure a sustainable rental market in which landlords do not have to increase rents unnecessarily. This would make it fairer for all. Maybe the additional stamp duty will be removed? Maybe the capital gains allowance will be aligned with residential? Am I being too optimistic? With all this change happening, who knows.

Let us watch closely over the coming weeks what the new PM and her cabinet set out regarding housing and taxation. Let us hope that the private rental sector is allowed to develop and mature as it has done for years.

Abolish the “turnover” tax!