Buy to let sector 'failed by Budget'

25 March 2010

Written by Simon Whittaker

Buy to let investors may be disappointed with the Budget announced by chancellor Alistair Darling yesterday (March 24th).

There is still a housing shortage and this will not be solved by the Treasury's decision to raise the stamp duty threshold to £250,000 for first-time buyers.

According to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), this is a good start but more needs to be done to help the private rented sector (PRS).

Operations manager Ian Potter said: "We had high hopes for today's Budget. However, the government has failed the PRS as the Budget offers nothing towards the long-term availability of enough affordable rented accommodation."

He added that "robust policy" needs to be implemented in the area so that the buy to let industry can help with solving the housing shortfall.

Many landlords own property that does not meet all standards and the government must do more to help this, Mr Potter warned.

In yesterday's Budget the chancellor also announced there would be a five per cent rate of stamp duty - as of April next year - for any transactions over £1 million.

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