Ex-housing minister urges government to end the ‘war on landlords’

Robert Jenrick, the former housing secretary, has urged the government to end its ‘war’ on small landlords.

Writing for the Daily Telegraph, he argues that the next Budget should restore mortgage interest relief which was scrapped to discourage buy to let investment.

He claims that this policy has backfired, as many landlords have left the market and reduced the supply of rental properties, especially in rural areas where large institutional investors are less likely to operate.

He also calls for stamp duty reform, either by raising the thresholds, lowering the rates or abolishing the tax altogether.

He says this would stimulate the housing market and encourage more people to take out long-term mortgages of 25 or 30 years, which would offer more stability and affordability for homeowners and renters.

‘We should end the war on small landlords’

Mr Jenrick writes: “We should end the war on small landlords, which has proven to be so counter-productive for renters.

“It’s time to bring back mortgage interest relief for smaller landlords which was removed to choke off the buy to let boom of yesteryear.

“It certainly achieved that purpose, but at the expense of thousands of small property investors.”

He adds: “The market has lost so many landlords that there are not enough properties available for renters, especially outside the big cities where institutional landlords might reasonably be expected to step in.”

‘Turn a corner on the war against housing and landlords’

Mr Jenrick says that the measures he suggests would ‘turn a corner on the war against housing and landlords and give aspiration and economic growth a fighting chance’.

He admits that no single policy can solve the housing crisis, and that increasing demand alone is not enough.

Mr Jenrick also says that the medium-term solution is to ‘build, build, build’ more homes, by reviving planning reforms that would support small builders, cut red tape and environmental regulations, expand new towns, increase urban density and regeneration.

Housing crisis cannot be addressed without tackling mass immigration

He also says that the housing crisis cannot be addressed without tackling the ‘flip side of the coin’ – mass immigration.

The former minister says that the pro-housebuilding movement has ignored the fact that the housing crisis is linked to ‘unprecedented levels of legal immigration’.

He says that he secured a package to reduce legal migration by 300,000, and that further reforms are needed to ease the pressure on housing, especially in major cities.