Landlord warns of housing ‘catastrophe’

Published 11th Jul 2007

One of the UK’s biggest private buy-to-let landlords believes that the property market will crash overnight and thousands of people could be left homeless if one of Gordon Brown’s latest ideas goes ahead...

Greg Heywood, who owns more than 130 properties worth around £30million, is appalled by speculation that the new Prime Minister will stop interest payments on buy-to-let properties being tax deductible.

He said: “This is a ludicrous idea that will have a catastrophic affect on the UK housing market. A great many landlords will decide to sell up, leaving the many thousands of people who rely on private rented
accommodation struggling to find a roof over their heads.”

At present, buy-to-let landlords can offset their mortgage interest payments and maintenance costs against their rental income, meaning that they only pay tax on any residual rental income after these costs have been taken care of.

Mr Heywood, who used his personal experiences as a landlord to set up his own property company, The Step, to help other landlords, says that the combination of higher interest rates and possible tax changes would simply make property investment a lot less viable to many individuals.

“This could change the whole dynamics of the housing market,” he added. “It’s a ridiculous, ill-conceived idea which should be stamped on immediately'.

Source: ' Move Channel Ltd '

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