On Sunday 18th June 2017, Iain Duncan Smith was quoted by the Sunday Telegraph as saying:-
“It is time to look again at the way we treat private landlords who buy houses to rent. George Osborne’s decisions to impose a stamp duty levy on the purchase of homes to rent, to restrict mortgage interest relief to the basic rate of income tax and to tax a landlord’s turnover rather than profits have led to landlords scaling back or even leaving the sector altogether.
They are a significant provider of the additional housing we need. We should be encouraging them with devices such as VAT relief on conversions or even capital allowances, not punishing them. It’s no wonder buy-to-let purchases have fallen dramatically. If the purpose was to stop foreign owners buying up property and leaving it empty then we are in danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water.”
Sulgrave Estates asks all landlords to contact Iain Duncan Smith voicing their support for his comments and urging him to do more to help reverse these outrageous assaults on our businesses.