In what may appear a surprise to almost everyone, the Generation Rent activist group has described yesterday’s Budget as a “giveaway to landlords.”
And it goes on to say the side-effect of the Budget is that it could “make thousands of renters homeless”.
Yesterday’s financial announcements - like to be the last ones by the government before an election - included confirmation that tax concessions for owners of furnished properties let out as holiday accommodation would end, in a bid to remove the incentive for landlords to offer short-term holiday lets rather than longer-term homes. This will take effect from April 2025.
To great surprise the higher rate of Capital Gains Tax was reduced from 28 to 24 per cent: this is a bid to encourage landlords and second homeowners to sell their properties, making more available for first time buyers.
However the Chancellor also abolished Multiple Dwellings Relief, although transactions with contracts that were exchanged on or before yesterday - March6 - will continue to benefit from the relief regardless of when they complete, as will any other purchases that are completed before June 1.
Generation Rent is angry because of the CGT change from 28 to 24 per cent.
Although the government says this is explicitly to encourage a wider supply of properties for first time buyers, Generation Rent’s chief executive Ben Twomey claims:
"This tax giveaway to landlords could make thousands of renters homeless. The only reason the Chancellor is doing this is because of the expectation that a lower tax rate will boost the number of sales, but apparently no thought has been given to the people living in those homes, who will generally face eviction before the landlords put them on the market.
"Landlords selling up is already one of the leading causes of homelessness, with 16,470 households made or being threatened with homelessness for that reason in the six months to September 2023.
"It is particularly counterproductive given that the government is currently legislating on measures to reduce evictions. If the government insists on going ahead with this cut, then renters will need better protection from eviction. Government could make the new rate conditional on selling with a sitting tenant, or even selling to the tenant, so that they aren't forcing people out of their homes."
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24% is still eye wateringly high for those of us who have owned houses for a long time.
Without indexation relief it's still a huge amount of tax which basically amounts to the theft of a couple of bedrooms. Sell a 5 bed and finish up with enough money to buy a 3 bed.
As houses can't be sold off in nice CGT friendly parcels like most other assets can, it seems bizarre that CGT is charged at a higher rate on houses than on other assets.
A very contradictory statement from them Jo, S21 is forcing people to be homeless, Landlords are all greedy, right to buy for tenants, S24 means no money to reinvest, lack of stock etc etc.
Now its 4% relief on tax so landlords who are fed up now think that is 4% I did not have yesterday is a cue to call... SELL SELL SELL, then this little fool of a failed politician pipes up it will make people homeless? Did all of the above also make tenants homeless???
In 2010 £150k would now be worth around 200k using RPI as a measure of inflation, but the Gov does not adjust capital gain taking inflation into account, so if you buy for £150k in 2010 sell the property today for £250k, not accounting for any allowances (which are hopeless anyway), the gain would be £100k, yet the actual gain in real terms is only £50k after accounting for inflation. The Gov takes £24k and you are effectively left with only £26k. So, the effective tax rate is circa 50%.
Surprised any of them can actually read , certainly not without moving their lips
Not worth the second thought about them. One should not be distracted by those kind.
Idiots. I am selling due to changes in policies coming due to their lobbying. Chiefly ‘no-fault’ but ‘usually fault’ eviction restrictions which are A NECESSITY. NON-NEGOTIABLE.
These people 🤦🏻♂️. They attack you endlessly. Quite rightly when you want to go they are not happy with that either. 🤷🏼♂️
I wonder if anyone from Generation Rent get out of bed in the morning and actually read the comments on this site?
Margaret, they are all living on Universal Credit, lying in bed on their iPhones sipping their lattes and eating their advocado on toast that's been delivered to them by Deliveroo whilst they message each other more nonsense (or policy ideas).
Big penalty to downsize or get out, sitting Tenants to stay-in.
Whatever University this guy/girl/teapot went to, should be sued. I also think people/entities called "Ben" should be banned from having anything to do with housing, as clearly they are all nuts.
They are morons. They don’t seem to realise the Gvt misguidedly is forcing landlords to sell the biggest issue being mortgage interest offset changes and higher interest rates. The agenda is this will give more people the opportunity to buy. Maybe but I’m sceptical as many renters have no deposit etc. This is the real reason supply is reducing and rents rising and not enough rented housing is available as no local authority builds so Gvt was relying on private landlords for a rented supply. Quite ridiculous and a broken model with stamp duty costs on entry. I am selling mine when my current mortgage deal ends. Michael Gove clearly doesn’t get it. Either protect the rental sector properly or watch the supply diminish and rents rise further. So disappointing that this Gvt don’t get it and not sure any opposition is bright enough to see save maybe Reform
Generation Rent should realise that it is their campaigning to end shorthold assured tenancies which is resulting in landlords selling.
A large number of landlords will not let their properties if tenants are going to have potentially tenancies for life. That is obvious.
Generation Rent angry at a small reduction in C/gains tax allowing a few more landlords to get out leaving them high & dry brilliant, just to add to the thousands of landlords that their Policy’s together with Shelter & Acorn etc has caused to sell up already.
What are they going to do when no one left to attack and pay taxes to keep them.
Heavens forbid they might to buy their own.
As Jo says for long term landlords we are hammered no indexation or taper relief, no inflation or money valuation taken into account. We paid tax on those properties when we bought and every year since. So all this is ignored and for me the value of the pound then 45 years ago, what you could have got for it and the same applies to property not least when it was 240d in the pound. In other words I’ll be virtually paying tax on false
C/gain on the entire lot it’s horrendous,
are you reading Mr Twomey or have you a silver spoon in the mouth.
I absolutely knew this morning Generation Rant would kick off about CGT. They are so thick it is unbelievable. How many times does it have to be said that Landlords are already selling in their droves because of all the legislation and removal of Section 21 these lobbyists lobbied for? They would soon be out of a job once all the landlords have gone. Turkeys voting for Christmas comes to mind.
Stalin used landlords as a scapegoat, thus is just straight politics.
A cut in the rate of CGT to 24% after the savage cut in the nil rate allowance is not going to encourage any LL to sell! Lots of other reasons to sell - S24 / S21 / likely EPC regs / mortgage rates - but this is one of them!
Besides, I thought GenRent wanted LLs to sell up so renters can buy their own homes!
Is the penny finally dropping that landlords selling up is a problem??
So their answer is to make the sale "Conditional on selling to the Tenant or with Tenant in Situ"??? ...oh Generation Tent you do make me laugh! 🤣🤣🤣
It's great isn't it?
Let's beat up landlords then "force" them to sell their property to who?..... another landlord? No, I tell you what, let's sell it to a first time buyer with a sitting tenant. That'll work!
What will GR rant about if all LL's sell up? Who will they blame for the ills of the world then? Too stupid to realise their campaigns make LL want to sell up. If the tenants have deposits and want to buy the house at market value fine. I don't think many LL's would turn a good offer down. The reality is many tenants have bad credit and wouldn't be able to get a mortgage. That's not the LL fault.
Who's going to write the Generation Rent Comedy or errors, please?
Its GR, Shelter, etc, and their endless anti LL rhetoric that's driven government anti LL policy which has caused the majority of the problems the sector faces today and now they are unhappy that the big bad LL they hate so much, "is taking the ball away" selling up and leaving the tenants GR supposedly represent with less supply choice and much higher prices. GR why don't you guys buy some property, become LL's and provide these to tenants, rather than standing on the side lines shouting the odds whilst doing nothing meaningful.
A 4% CGT change won't make any difference to LL's looking to leave the sector. Its section 24, the suggestion of the removal of section 21, increased mortgage costs, increased regulation, council licencing, council tax on LL's during void periods, the endless stress and hassle of being a LL that's driving LL's away.
Congratulations GR, Shelter Etc, your shooting is so good you've blown both your own feet off.
Bruce: Great post, 100% agree.
These sham charities don’t represent the interests of tenants, on the contrary, their reason for being is solely to further the leftist dismantling of society.
When will these idiots understand....?? We're not councils.... We're PRIVATE landlords FFS! They're as thick as mince! .... We're running businesses for a PROFIT were not charities!!!
All the anti landlord rhetoric, all the tiny tweaks by govts, all the complaining by Shelter and GR.... none of it will make the slightest bit of difference to the housing crisis. In simple terms:
Most tenants are unlikely to be able to afford to buy their own home, unless they are professional couples on good incomes, even if more houses were to come on to the market.
Forget the PRS, councils and housing associations need to build, build, build
More affordable, 2/3 bed houses need to be built, not the big 4/5 bed detached that builders favour because they are more profitable.
Landlords are selling up for the simple reason that they are not making enough money to make it worth putting up with bad tenants, maintenance issues, bureaucracy and vilification. Plus you can now get decent bank interest rates, probably better rates than landlords are making from rent in many areas of the country.
One comment asks if gen rent had actually read the articles. Big assumption that these neanderthal idiots can actually read anything beyond Jack and Jill!
Well certainly a kick in the teeth to those with holiday lets although I'd agree in Cornwall there are too many. Would have preferred long term lets to be given the same tax benefits as holiday lets, but there we are. Definitely can't see any give aways. Even CGT, they just cut the annual exempt amount from £12,300 to £6000 then £3000, so they take with one hand and give with another??
It is obvious that the Government or some other world organisation want landlords to sell off property.
Property is basically being stolen from landlords by forcing them to sell then taking enormous tax out of the sale.
This is not just about taxation.
Why are the PRS for lobby not causing more of an uproar ?
Do landlords join the protests?
Generation rent is simply another quango!
Agree, but where do they think people are going to live? I had 100 enquiries in 3 days last time I advertised a 2 bed house. Would have been more, but openrent paused the advert as they think that's enough enquiries to find a tenant!!
Therefore, what we are dealing with is hypocrisy. Politicians, government officials should not be working in the city where they were born and grew up to keep the integrity and principle in place. Some countries move the politicians around to different counties to avoid corruption.
As a LL, I must express my frustration with the recent statements from GenRen. Their critique of the Budget changes, particularly the reduction in CGT, seems to be based on a misunderstanding of the property market and the challenges LLs face.
1. Financial Realities: The role of a LL is not simply to provide housing; it's a business that requires substantial financial commitment and carries significant risk. The CGT reduction from 28% to 24% is a necessary adjustment that recognises the economic pressures on property owners.
2. Market Dynamics: The assertion that the Budget is a "giveaway to LLs" ignores the complex dynamics of the housing market. Encouraging property sales can alleviate the housing crisis by increasing the supply for FTB's, which is beneficial for the overall market.
3. Eviction Misconceptions: GenRen's claim that the CGT cut could lead to mass evictions is an oversimplification. Most LLs value stable, long-term tenancies and resort to eviction only when absolutely necessary.
4. Policy Balance: It's imperative to strike a balance in housing policy that supports both LLs and tenants. Simplistic critiques that don't take into account the full picture are unhelpful and divisive.
5. Exemptions for LLs: Additionally, I would advocate for exemptions in the CGT for landlords who have endured lengthy delays in possession orders, sometimes up to 18 months. This would provide some relief for those LLs who have been unable to regain control of their properties in a timely manner.
In conclusion, GenRen’s stance appears totally disconnected from the practical realities of the housing market. It’s essential to recognise that LLs are not just key contributors but also pivotal in maintaining a healthy, functioning rental sector. Policies need to be formulated with a pragmatic approach that supports the sustainability of LLs’ businesses while also considering the needs of renters. Without this balance, the rental sector’s stability is at risk!
Generation Rant will reply: WAAAAAAGH! You are a landlord and rich so do not deserve any help.
So they dropped capital gains from 28% to 24% and recently dropped the interest relief to 3k, was this in a hope that landlords would not just sell 1 per year and sell up in 1 go?
They said clearly that they want landlords to sell their houses so first time buyers can buy them but they are not building more social housing to take the tenants left behind.
Where are all of these people going to live? No private rentals available, no council houses available. When will generation rant wake up and finally blame the government and not landlords for us selling up?
I'm starting to wonder if the government are anti tenant and not just anti small landlord.
John Ahmed, you hit the nail on the head there certainly is an alternative motive, namely the Big Boys taking over Computerisation killed off their Offices but now Residential is their new money stream, converting to Residential aided by Permitted Development Rights no need to waste time with planning Permission either its guaranteed .
So they are all mates rubbing shoulders together from Oxford, Cambridge, Eaton, Harrow or Harvard taking over carving it up for themselves
The hate monsters spewing out their filth yet again no surprises there ,though it is surprising that they don't appear to have any burns on their skin where the venom oozes from their fangs
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