ARLA calls on Osborne to give landlords tax breaks

ARLA has called on Chancellor George Osborne to use his Budget to encourage investment into the UK’s private rented sector.
 
In its Budget submission to the Chancellor, ARLA has urged the Government to support growth in the sector and remove prohibitive barriers to further investment.
 
Ian Potter, operations manager at ARLA, said: “Landlords must be treated as the entrepreneurial businesses they have now become.

“Supporting growth and encouraging greater investment into the private rented sector will help boost our economy and is an open goal for the Chancellor.
 
“Demand for private rented housing continues to grow, with 3.4 million tenants living in the private rented sector – an increase of over one million tenants since 2005. The tax system can be used by the Government to incentivise investment in housing stock in the PRS, and therefore improve the conditions in which those 3.4 million tenants live.”
 
ARLA’s Budget submission calls for landlords to be treated as running businesses for Capital Gains Tax purposes, for the introduction of roll-over relief for landlords looking to reinvest, and for Stamp Duty to be made fairer.
 
Potter said: “Some landlords face tax bills of up to 28% when selling a property, preventing them from reinvesting in the market.”