The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is calling on Chancellor Phillip Hammond to reverse the 3% stamp duty surcharge the government imposed on second homes in April.
After a surge in buy-to-let and investment sales in the first part of the year, the RICS says that a net balance of 58% of estate agents have seen numbers fall since new stamp duty rates were introduced.
A survey of landlords by the RICS also found that 86% had no plans to add to their portfolios this year.
The housing body says the UK is facing a shortfall of 1.8 million rental homes and is urging the government to..
- Drop its previous focus on homeownership and take steps to encourage the provision of more rental homes.
- Reverse the new stamp duty rates to encourage private landlords to expand their portfolio of rental homes.
- Encourage the building of large-scale rental portfolios by offering pension funds and other institutional investors tax breaks.
- Encourage local authorities holding brownfield sites to release land for build-to-rent developments.
Jeremy Blackburn, head of policy at the RICS, says: “The private rented sector became a scapegoat under the previous prime minister, and because of that it suffered.
“Yet with increasingly unaffordable house prices, the majority of British households will be relying on the rental sector in the future.
“We must ensure that it is fit for purpose, and the government must put in place the measures that will allow the rental sector to thrive. Any restrictions on supply will push up rents, marginalising those members of society who are already struggling.”
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