In updated guidance issued on 26 June 2023, HM Treasury has confirmed that the commitments from lenders to support mortgage holders will not extend to buy-to-let borrowers.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt MP has announced a set of measures designed to provide support to residential mortgage customers as interest rates continue to climb. The plans do not include any specific measures for buy-to-let investors.

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee has reviewed the White Paper outlining the UK Government risks undermining its own proposed tenancy reforms with MPs in the Committee debate agreeing on areas and concerns Propertymark has highlighted. 

In our written submission to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) call for evidence we highlight concerns in the net zero review. The review outlines the UK Government’s ambitious plans to be Net Zero by 2050.

Propertymark has been working with stakeholders including Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) and Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) to obtain legal opinion on the Scottish Government’s rent freeze and eviction ban legislation.

Propertymark are feeding into the UK Government at a range of levels on different issues. In a current industry roundtable on refugee access to the Private Rented Sector (PRS) we are discussing key issues for those in the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme.

Enacted in England and Wales on 28 June 2022, the Building Safety Act 2022 gives many leaseholders, for the first time, legal protection from unfair bills to make their homes safe.

Research reveals the full extent of landlords’ exit from the PRS (private rented sector) indicating the rate at which the sector is shrinking.

The Levelling Up Committee’s Report highlights too many leaseholders will fall through the cracks of the UK Government’s ‘piecemeal measures’ to protect leaseholders from the costs of building safety remediation.

During the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee session on building safety remediation and funding, Michael Gove — Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities — confirmed leaseholders who own “a string of properties” would not be protected.

New powers announced by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will allow cladding companies to be sued and subject to fines for defective products, as protections for leaseholders are extended.

In a letter to Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Propertymark is seeking urgent clarification that financial support to fix dangerous cladding will be made equally available to all affected leaseholders, including buy-to-let landlords.

HOUSING MARKET REPORT: The number of available properties per branch has decreased to 21, the lowest figure on record and 46 per cent lower than October 2020.

The Buy-to-Let (BTL) mortgage product has bolstered the sector ever since it’s introduction in 1996, spearheaded by the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

With the demand for rental property on the increase and the sales market experiencing a significant rise in mortgage applications, lockdown hasn’t been a deterrent for buyers and renters determined to make a change.

In his Summer Statement today, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak said that millions of people are moving onto Universal Credit because of the Coronavirus pandemic and the UK Government will double the number of Work Coaches in Job Centres.