Budget uncertainty delays landlord purchases and refinancing

More than one in five landlords surveyed have delayed decisions about buying further properties because of uncertainty over the Budget.

Buy to let lender Landbay’s Q3 survey found that 22% had held off on purchases ahead of today’s Budget announcement, while 16% had postponed remortgaging or refinancing.

However, 52% said they had not delayed any business decisions.

Finance costs top concerns

Mortgage interest rates and finance costs were the single biggest concern for 29% of respondents, ahead of further tax changes at 26%.

Asked separately about the possibility of further tax measures affecting the private rented sector, 49% described themselves as ‘very concerned’ and 31% as ‘quite concerned’.

Rob Stanton, the lender’s sales and distribution director, said: “Mortgage interest rates and finance costs remain landlords’ single biggest concern, closely followed by further taxation, and this uncertainty is clearly influencing some landlords’ investment and financing decisions.

“However, it is encouraging that more than half have not delayed any decisions ahead of the Budget, while a significant proportion still intend to purchase additional properties over the next 12 months.”

Property improvements on hold

This uncertainty also affected landlord spending on existing properties, with 14% of respondents delaying improvements.

Another 12% say they have postponed decisions about selling, while 11% were waiting before making changes to how their portfolios were owned.

Landbay said landlords needed greater certainty about the direction of government policy as the sector adjusted to regulatory and economic changes.

Despite concerns about taxation, 34% intended to buy further properties over the coming year.

The proportion expressing a positive outlook for their own buy to let business over the next 12 months stood at 28%, compared with 22% in the previous survey.

A further 33% were neutral about their prospects.