Budget Leaves Landlords Bereft
Thursday 7th March 2024
It transpires, our current Chancellor is worse than Gordon Brown, whose ‘if it moves - tax it’ philosophy has permeated deep into the Treasury Vampire Squid.
Jezhunt has been consumed - as was George (Gordon) Osborne, by the idea that to solve a problem caused by one tax, it is best to create yet another!
It was Osborne who, in the tentacles of the Treasury, took away the ability of private landlords to offset their debt (mortgage) interest against income before tax, making long-letting with a mortgage untenable.
The result has been landlords have been turning to short-letting or selling in droves, reducing the supply of rental properties and driving up rents for normal tenants.
It is these hapless normal tenants who politicians wish to woo, yet both the Tory and Labour parties pursue policies which make their lives difficult.
Jezhunt disingenuously suggests taking away the ability of a short-let landlord to offset interest will get them to go back to long-letting. This is a nonsense.
The net effect of Jezunt’s latest announcement in the budget is to make any form of letting with a mortgage untenable.
We will now see holiday let properties with mortgages being sold off.
Not the end of the world, necessarily. The increased supply might bring down prices and make it easier for seaside locals to buy.
That is to assume they will be able to afford anything at all without the jobs the holidaymakers bring!
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