At long last an actual Conservative MP is urging the government to (for once) help private sector landlords by changing tax regulations and other measures which will boost PRS housing supply.

The Conservative MP for Northampton South, Andrew Lewer, is also calling for an overall increase in house building volume to offset the current situation of demand outstripping supply that face most prospective private tenants.

Lewer makes a persuasive case for reform when writing his piece in the House of Commons magazine, saying: “Restrictions on mortgage interest relief and the imposition of a stamp duty levy on the purchase of homes to rent out have indeed made life more costly for landlords.

“Landlords are seeing the cost of their mortgages going up and it quickly becomes a far more financially prudent decision to sell their homes rather than deal with the burdensome and indeed confusing job of managing a buy-to-let.

“Marry this to the uncertainty surrounding the government’s plans for the sector, whether in energy efficiency requirements or the ending of Section 21 repossessions, and you do not exactly have an attractive market.”

Andrew wants reform to start with ending the additional homes stamp duty surcharge which he says, “……would see almost 900,000 new private rented homes made available across the UK over the next decade. This would lead to a £10 billion boost to government revenue through increased tax receipts.”

He also wants the ‘unlocking’ of the Local Housing Allowances across many areas as they fail to match the true local rates. He also believes it is imperative that landlords are given greater security on future rental regulations so they are confident in long term investment.