Buy to let ownership moving from individuals to the corporate sector?
The cynic might be forgiven for speculating that the Autumn Statement proposals, coupled with the Bank of England's recent "concerns" about overheating in the buy to let market (and thus the housing market generally) and the squeeze on housing associations imposed by rent caps and the introduction of right to buy were part of an actual plan to move ownership of rented residential property to the corporate sphere. I prefer to think of the law of unintended consequences, rather than conspiracy, but interested sociologists and economists will want to monitor this area. And if you want to invest in the sector, will you do so directly, indirectly, or through a tax transparent REIT or PAIC?
A tightening of lending criteria – coupled with increased stamp duty for buyers – could benefit institutions looking to enter the UK private-rented sector (PRS).The Bank of England this week said it would monitor mortgages taken by buy-to-let landlords.The bank said the UK’s buy-to-let mortgage market had continued to “grow rapidly since the end of 2013”, with the outstanding stock of buy-to-let mortgage lending increasing by almost 6% a year on average since 2008.”