Landlords adapting to controversial tax changes

The nation's landlords are adapting to ongoing restrictions to tax relief on buy-to-let mortgage interest, according to Mortgages for Business.

Upon releasing its latest Property Investor Survey, the firm says landlords' appetite for further investment has not been dampened.

The proportion of surveyed landlords seeking to expand their property portfolios has grown to 48%, up from 45% in November and 41% a year ago.

Meanwhile when it comes to buy-to-let mortgages, landlords have been increasingly choosing to fix for five years instead of three.

Five-year fixed rates are now the preferred option for 42% of respondents, up from 33% in November and twice the level recorded in May 2016.

Three-year fixed rates are now less popular than ten-year fixes, being chosen by just 5% of respondents – less than a third of the figure recorded a year ago.

Mortgages for Business' survey was carried out in May and attracted almost 200 responses from landlords and property investors.

“Although we expect buy-to-let lending to reduce somewhat this year, these results demonstrate that landlords are a resilient bunch, capable of adapting their investment strategies to successfully accommodate the new fiscal and regulatory landscape," comments Steve Olejnik, chief operating officer of Mortgages for Business.

He says that incorporation - which allows landlords to offset the impact of April's tax changes - has now become standard practice.