October 22, 2010
As the Government rolls out the biggest wholesale spending cuts for a generation, experts have feared that everything from social rents to house prices could suffer within the property market.
Following Mr Osborne’s announcement, David Salusbury, Chairman of the National Landlords Association (NLA), expressed understanding and concern for how the Government’s cuts in social housing will affect the residential market.
“The NLA welcomes the recognition by the Government of the real cost involved in providing homes to rent. However, it is clear that the social housing sector will not be able to meet current demand by itself. The Government must now put in place a strategy to incentivise the growth of the private rented sector and support professional landlords in providing much needed homes to rent.”
“Despite the Government’s recognition of the true cost of providing homes to rent, the planned cuts to local housing allowance could well result in heavy additional financial burdens on the private rented sector, at precisely the time that demand for affordable housing to rent will be increasing.”
Mr Salusbury claimed it was “crucial” for the Government to rethink cutting local housing allowances and introduce more “transitional arrangements” in order to reduce the burden on residential housing.
“Increasing the age limit for the shared room rate from 25 to 35 will also place a greater local demand on shared housing. It will be important for local authorities to work closely with the sector to understand how best to meet this demand,” he added.
If as a landlord you’re worried about how such decisions will affect your rental rates and the availability of buy-to-let properties, seek advice as soon as possible and navigate the Spending Review successfully.
