London landlords particularly likely to quit lettings sector, says survey

The proportion of landlords in central London who intend to sell property has quadrupled since last year’s Budget, according to the National Landlords Association.

Just four per cent of landlords in central London had plans to sell property when surveyed before last year’s Budget. However, the figure has almost quadrupled, rising to 19 per cent, when surveyed in January this year.

The 15 per cent increase in intention to sell property is the highest witnessed across the UK over the last six months.

Landlords with property in the North East have seen the smallest increase compared to other regions of the UK, rising from 17 per cent in June to 24 per cent in January. 

The restriction to mortgage interest relief for individual residential landlords – announced during last year’s Summer Budget – will leave many landlords worse off, forcing some basic rate tax payers into a higher tax bracket and leaving higher and additional-rate payers with considerably bigger tax bills.

“We’re seeing a loss of confidence across the board as many landlords realise they won’t be able to remain in the market. If landlords follow through over the coming months this could lead to a massive sale of property, as we have previously warned. However this may not be a straightforward process, especially for those with stock in low demand areas” says Richard Lambert, chief executive officer of the NLA.