Tax changes that affect residential landlords have sparked a massive sell-off, with 133,000 rental properties likely to be sold in the next year according to a survey by the Residential Landlords Association.

In the year ended 31 March 2017, 46,000 let properties were sold.

There are two principal reasons why landlords are increasingly wary of investing in let properties. The first is the restriction on the amount of mortgage interest which can be claimed against rental profits for tax purposes…a problem compounded by the threat of further interest rate increases in the future. The second is the additional rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax, which adds 3 per cent to the cost of most properties.

There is also an ‘advance payment’ regime for Capital Gains Tax that applies to gains made on the sale of most such properties.