New buy-to-let rules are the biggest reason for rent rises in 2016
New rules introduced by the government for buy-to-let investors are the biggest reason that rents will rise next year, new research reveals.
Nearly half of landlords surveyed by flatshare website spareroom.com said they will raise rent in 2016, with more than a third of them saying it was down to the increased costs incurred from new legislation, the reason given by the majority of the 1,000 landlords surveyed.
Nearly half said they had already raised rents this year. A double room in a shared house now costs on average £593 per month, a rise of 8.6 per cent annually according to data from spareroom.
"The roll out of Right to Rent legislation, removal of mortgage interest tax relief and changes to the wear and tear tax break from 2017, on top of stamp duty changes coming in 2019, means buy-to-let looks like far more of a risk than it did at the start of the year," said director Matt Hutchinson.
“The worry is that tenants will bear the brunt of these changes. And if renters end up being the ones to shoulder the burden of legislative change, something has gone very very wrong. The private rental sector is already under immense pressure.”