Philip,
It’s Bill here.
I thought I’d drop you a line before your big day next week to make a
few suggestions on behalf of Oxford’s landlords. I’ll keep it brief, as I know you are busy,
but come on mate you know these suggestions make a lot of sense.
1.
Reverse George’s stamp duty changes – as you
know they’ve delivered only half of the expected £700m and they seem to have
reduced the number of house sales. Do
something bold like halving the rate for stamp duty and offering a stamp duty
holiday early in the New Year.
2.
Remove the 3% stamp duty surcharge on second
homes – Oxford needs over 6,800 new rented homes by 2025 and since the
surcharge introduction in April fewer homes have sold to landlords meaning we
are falling further behind the curve now on both new house building and new
rental homes.
3.
Scrap the planned tax relief changes – nationally
440,000 basic-rate tax payers will be forced into the higher tax bracket once
these changes to landlord taxation come into force. These Section 24 changes risk landlords
having to pass-on extra costs to tenants in higher rents and further worsening
the problem of rent arrears. Oxford’s
landlords have a history of balancing rent increases to look after their
tenants, but stamp duty and section 24 risk undermining their returns entirely.
4.
Build more homes in Oxford. We need 400 new homes per annum just to avoid
worsening the supply crisis. This is
pushing Oxford prices ever higher, worsening the affordability gap between
average house price and average income, and creating a knock-on higher demand
for rental properties.
5.
Introduce a capital gains holiday to encourage
landowners to release land for new home building. At present due to high rates of capital gains
tax, there is little incentive for owners to release land for development. Work with local planners to identify ideal
parcels of land and encourage the landowners to sell via the tax holiday.
Philip, as you know Oxford is ranked 5th
Nationally for gross value-added, and is experiencing strong population growth
reflecting it’s attractiveness for people in terms of employment, cultural arts
and its knowledge based economy. Oxford’s
landlords invest for the long-term, free them to continue to look after their
tenants interests, to re-invest returns in the fabric of their properties, and
allow them a reasonable long-term return on investment. You won’t regret it!
Kind regards,
Bill
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