Landlords need tax breaks, say housing groups

01 Sep 2014

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and the Resolution Foundation (RF) have released a report indicating that targeted incentives for landlords would encourage improvements and maintenance on properties.

Tax breaks for private landlords currently amount to approximately £7 billion per year, inclusive of repairs, but the report says there is no incentive to perform maintenance work above minimum standard.

Chief Executive of the CIH said: ‘This Government has focused on measures to boost home ownership, but with more and more people living in the private rented sector – including more older people, more families with children and more vulnerable people from the housing waiting list – it’s vital that we look at new ways to raise standards’.

Deputy Chief Executive of the RF, Vidhya Alakeson, added: ‘Many landlords already benefit from generous public subsidy but, while many of them are responsible, not all of them give anything in return. Government should incentivise those who work to raise their game in order to improve the overall standards of private renting’.

The report says that current Government policy is mostly focused on improving standards by encouraging greater competition in the sector, while Labour policy focuses on regulation. The CIH and the RF said that a combined approach of ‘carrot and stick’ would be more effective.