23rd
Nov 2015
The founder of a property investment search portal has just set up an online petition through the UK Parliament website, campaigning that buy –to-let private rented properties should be on a national register.
Martin Wilkinson of the portal reasons that as home owner property transactions are recorded with the Land Registry, then why not for buy-to-let transactions as well?
He defends his actions by stating that such a register will help to clamp down on rogue landlords and will help gauge the true buy-to-let situation.
He believes that the government together with the Bank of England are trying to “stifle the buy-to-let sector", however there are not enough homes on the market, therefore there are increasing prices and it is the PRS which is supplying much needed accommodation.
Wilkinson says: “We frequently see reports and statistics on the owner-occupier market but the lack of reliable, comprehensive data on the private rental and buy to let sector means no one – including politicians, mortgage lenders and estate agents - has a clear picture of what is happening in the market. In much the same way as a mortgage charge is registered on traditional house sales, we think there should be a similar requirement for buy to let purchases".
He estimates that yearly transactions within the buy-to-let market is worth £100 billion and said: "so it’s vital that we capture the true scale of this important market, and at the same time, use the data gathered to identify and stamp out malpractice and rogue landlords.”
News on the other online petition opposing the government’s proposed tax changes for landlords, has taken four months to reach 39,000 signatures and is unlikely to achieve the required 100,000 for it to be discussed in parliament.
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