Data by the HMRC revealed that the number of landlords saw a 7% increase between 2013 and 2014, with figures likely to be even higher after the recent buy-to-let lending surge.
Estate agent ludlowthompson released these figures based on data from HM Revenue & Customs, showing that 1.75 million people declared an income from property during the year, an increase from 1.63 million in 2012/13.
All together, landlords banked a total of £14.2 billion in net income from their rental properties during the year, up from £13.1billion.
The figures by the HMRC are the latest numbers on landlords and they might have increased significantly since. Buy-to-let lending has experienced a boom due to cheap mortgages and rising rents. Combining this with the currently low saving rates made property an attractive option to investors.
Ludlowthompson explained that over the past year, London has seen an increase in property price of 13.9%, the FTSE 100 fell by 8.8% during the same time.
Changes made to stamp duty increased the buying costs on second homes. Additionally, from 2017, the ongoing costs will start to rise for landlords who pay the higher rate of tax as the relief on mortgage repayments starts to be withdrawn.
The firm said the surge in borrowing by landlords ahead of the stamp duty change suggested property remained popular: figures from mortgage lenders showed a 226.1% year-on-year rise in the number of purchase loans taken out by landlords in March. The chairman of ludlowthompson, Stephen Ludlow, said: “Investors continue to be drawn to the buy-to-let market as the returns routinely outperform those of other investments.”
“Buy-to-let investments are a highly popular alternative to the volatility investors often risk when investing in the stock market.”
The National Landlords Association has suggested that investors will make some changes to mitigate the new rules. It said last week that “the profits of six in 10 landlords would fall after the removal of some tax relief. In order to recover costs, one in five landlords could stop renting to higher-risk tenants, such as those on housing benefit.”
It said the removal of mortgage interest relief, combined with the government’s benefits freeze and the fall in social housing, would “create a perfect storm whereby some tenants will struggle to find any sort of housing at all”.
