FORTO Finance director urges landlord tax incentives in Budget

FORTO Finance director Anthony Curtis (pictured above) has outlined a series of Budget hopes to boost housing supply, reward responsible landlords and encourage greater market mobility.

On his wish list was relief on finance costs for landlords who meet EPC C ratings and offer longer tenancies.

According to Anthony, chancellor John Healey “should push the FCA to let lenders count a strong record of paying rent as evidence of affordability, perhaps having rent form a part of their credit profile.

“As a bonus, if rental payments form a part of their credit profile, then landlords could ask to see it to establish a new tenant's track-record.

"That would help landlords avoid nightmare tenants — tenants who currently hold all the cards.”

Beyond the private rental sector, Anthony would like to see downsizers, particularly over 55s moving to a smaller home, made exempt from stamp duty.

He said: “It wouldn't cost a great deal and it would trigger a chain of further sales, each of which would be paying stamp duty.

“The cut pays for itself via all the extra transactions. Furthermore, this would free up large homes for families to buy.

“Given we aren't building our way out of the housing crisis any time soon, expanding the supply of available bedrooms sounds like a pretty smart move.”

Anthony continued: "I'd like the chancellor to drop the 5% second-home surcharge on purchases that add new homes. That means new builds, conversions and empty homes being brought back into use. Again, that investment would go towards expanding supply.

"Lastly, we should bring VAT on refurbishments and conversions into line with new build. New homes are zero-rated, while refurbishing existing homes mostly carries 20% VAT. Cutting this to 5% or 0% would bring tired and empty homes back into use faster than new building can. It would also help SME builders and small developers."