The NRLA has called for a deferred annual investment allowance that would encourage landlords to provide long-term stable housing.

The landlord group suggests this allowance could be accrued annually but only realised upon the sale of a property - by permitting a tax-free notional return equivalent to that available through low-risk, tax-efficient savings vehicles such as cash ISAs.

It has sent a 17-page plan to government departments with a range of suggestions to boost housing supply which also includes extending Business Asset Rollover Relief to residential property. This would allow landlords to defer paying CGT when they sell a property, as long as they reinvest the proceeds from property sales into new rental homes.

The NRLA wants tax breaks for landlords investing in energy efficiency measures and proposes that specific energy-efficiency improvements should be treated as revenue costs, and therefore deductible against income tax. It suggests a clear, annually updated list of qualifying retrofit measures to provide certainty to investors and a modernised Landlord Energy Saving Allowance (LESA 2.0) to support works such as the installation of double glazing, and low-carbon heating, aligned with the forthcoming MEES regulations.

Lacked

It believes that too often, policy related to the sector has lacked coherence, leading to policy contradictions and a lack of joined-up thinking. It cites the government announcing new funding for councils to support enforcement of the Renters’ Rights Act while confirming that it does not currently hold information on how many local authority staff have responsibility for enforcement action in the PRS.

CEO Ben Beadle (pictured) says: “We all agree the country needs a healthy, vibrant private rented sector, and with 1.34 million households on the waiting list for social homes it is more vital than ever.

Achievable

“Our document, ‘Next steps for the private rented sector’ lays out clear, achievable proposals that have the potential to make a real difference across the sector to provide affordable rental homes in the places people want to live.”

Other ideas are that councils should publish an annual report on enforcement activity related to the PRS, and a new national post of chief environmental health officer with a remit to lead the charge for better enforcement.

To read the full document click here.

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