9% of UK adults who were considering a buy-to-let property investment have been put off by the government’s plan to introduce a 3% additional stamp duty and cut tax relief on their finance costs, according to research by the online investment platform rplan.co.uk.
However, 30% of UK adults are still considering whether to do so. 14% of existing landlords say they will now sell one or more of their properties because of the new rules.
Under the changes, the stamp duty on buying a £250,000 buy-to-let property will rise from £2,500 to £10,000 from April, while that for a £400,000 property will more than double from £10,000 to £22,000. Also, from 2017, the tax relief currently allowed on finance costs such as interest payments on mortgages and loans to buy furnishings will be gradually reduced over four years.
Those planning to invest in buy-to-let were going to use savings and investments worth an average of £43,592 to buy a property. Instead, 39% of these adults will use the money to save in a cash account, 30% will invest in an ISA, 20% will put it into their pension and 13% will put it in other stock market investments.
Stuart Dyer, plan.co.uk’s chief information officer, said: “The British have strong faith in property as an investment and many see it as a means of providing a pension income. But the government clearly has a policy to dis-incentivise buy-to-let and the sharp increase in landlord mortgages revealed by the Bank of England credit survey will probably be a last rush before the gate slams shut.
“Having a buy-to-let property can also mean an over-exposure to one asset class for many investors, who should strongly consider the alternative of investing in a diversified portfolio for the long term, especially if this can be achieved through a tax-free ISA wrapper.”
