In the recent Budget, little was said about property. This means there will be no major changes to impact property owners. However, most property experts are left disappointed as they believe the Chancellor failed to address the current issues with the housing market. Some say this was a missed opportunity to get the housing market back on track. There was no mention of the Help to Buy scheme which is intended to help get first-time buyers on the housing ladder.
Business rates
Business rates will be reevaluated on 1 April 2017, which will be the first time in seven years. This could see businesses paying more. However, the Chancellor revealed measures to reduce the impact of this. For example, if the change causes you to lose small business rate relief, any increase to your bill next year will be capped at £50 per month. There will also be a £1,000 discount on business rates bills for pubs with a rateable value of less than £100,000.
First-time buyers
There will be a new savings account for those looking to save for their first home, which will be available from April 2017. This account will pay a fixed rate of 2.2% on deposits of up to £3,000. The maximum total interest available will be £202. However, there are plenty of other savings accounts available for first-time buyers saving for a deposit.
Renters
The Budget did not state when the ban on lettings agent fees will take effect, as it wasn’t mentioned at all. This is expected to be mentioned in the next few months though.
Homeowners
There was no mention of homeowners looking to rent a room in the Spring Budget. However, the Government plan to redesign the Rent a Room scheme which enables people to earn up to £7,500 a year through renting a room in their home. There were also no changes announced to stamp duty, which those who were planning on moving house were hoping for.
Buy to let
The Budget had no bad news for buy-to-let investors this time. Mortgage interest tax relief will be cut back to 20% from April 2017 – 2020. The amount you can earn in rental profits before tax will increase as the personal tax-free allowance increases to £11,500 from 6 April. By 2020 this is expected to increase to £12,500. There were no changes announced to the stamp duty rate on additional homes.
If you are a landlord or are thinking about purchasing a buy to let property, please feel free to call Clive on 0208 866 5666 or email: clive@paigeandpetrook.co.uk.