Surge in the number of landlords using limited companies

admin    Uncategorized     agents

According to a recent report by estate agents Hamptons, over the last four years the number of landlords operating their buy to let business through a limited company has doubled.

There were 47,400 new buy-to-let companies incorporated in 2021 right across the UK, the figures being derived from Companies House data – that’s the highest number since the changes to the tax system under the then chancellor George Osborne resulted in landlords paying more income tax.

Higher rate taxpayers

In particular, higher rate taxpayers with rental income, in addition to a salary, lose out because rental income is simply added to their employment income before the deduction of costs and this determines your tax band. On the other hand, owning properties through a limited company benefits certain people, so many higher rate taxpayers find it more tax-efficient than owning property as a private individual.

The chancellor’s tax changes were introduced through what’s known as “Section 24” which came into effect in 2017. It applied increasing tax liabilities on a sliding scale as investors with properties in their personal names had their ability to claim mortgage interest as an expense gradually reduced over a 4-year period to 2021.

Individual buy to let landlords are now effectively taxed on turnover, whereas company landlords are taxed on profit – they can deduct full expenses. It has meant that it’s often more tax efficient to buy new rental properties through a limited company, or even transfer existing owned properties into one.

Growth in number of incorporations slowing

Hamptons thinks that the number of new buy-to-let incorporations in 2021 is now probably close to its peak, with the trend expected to decline in 2022. This may be as a result of last years’ stamp duty holiday which to some extent boosted new buy to let investor numbers. In addition, those investors who could transfer properties from a personal to a company name have had a full five years to do so since the 2017 tax hike.

The number of buy-to-let companies now in operation in the UK topped the 200,000 mark as the country emerged from the first lockdown, says Hamptons, but by 2021 this figure rose to a new total of 269,300. Approximately 40% of these buy to let companies existed before the introduction of the new tax regime, so well over half have been registered since.

Small-scale landlords still dominate the sector

With small-scale landlords still dominating the sector – as opposed to larger institutions – with an estimated 4.4 million privately rented households in England. It’s a sector that’s doubled over the last 20 years. Hamptons estimate that around half of all new landlord purchases last year used a company to hold their buy to let. 40% of these new purchases went into a limited company that was less than a year old.

The bulk of new buy-to-let companies set up in 2021 were in London and the South East, with the two regions together accounting for 45% of all new incorporations. That’s not surprising as by far the bulk of all UK buy to lets reside in the south east of the country.

These two regions have long dominated the incorporation trend. Considerably higher average rents has meant that the tax advantages from incorporation are generally more favourable in these regions. Only the North East (-6%) saw fewer buy-to-let companies set up in 2021 than in 2020 according to Hamptons.

The other side of the coin is that while the number of new buy-to-let incorporations has continued to grow, around 15,200 limited companies were shut down or made dormant in 2021. This would equate to around 6% of all buy-to-let companies still operating. The average buy to let property company closes after 5.8 years. This figure has continued to fall in recent years while at the same time the number of incorporations has increased.

Easy to set-up a new company

Setting up a new buy-to-let limited company is inexpensive and can be done easily online through Companies House in a few minutes. But before going down this route you should seek advice from an accountant, legal advisor or financial planner as everyone’s situation is different and using a limited company for buy to let investments does not benefit everyone.

One major advantage of owning through a limited company is that it’s simpler to transfer ownership than if properties are privately held. In this case the property does not change owners but remains under the company’s ownership, which may protect the transaction from Stamp Duty, Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax (CGT). This is useful tax planning aid when property and estates are being passed on from one generation to the next.

Profits can be retained within the company when properties earn income and when they are sold, helping the owners protect themselves against certain tax liabilities because income can be taken as dividends, and on a sale there’s technically no capital gain. It can help provide more capital for expansion.

Limited liability gives protection of your personal assets like your home, but it can make mortgage applications more difficult – you may need to give personal guarantees. The main drawback to incorporation is having to pay stamp duty and capital gains tax if you want to sell your existing investments into your company.

Always seek professional advice before making important decisions like investing through a limited company.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Surge in the number of landlords using limited companies | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Surge in the number of landlords using limited companies

Should I hang tight on lease extension?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

I own a leasehold property with 85 years left on the lease. I am aware of proposed changes to the law around leases, but the changes haven’t been enacted by parliament yet.

The question is should I press ahead now and negotiate an extension with the freeholder

View Full Article: Should I hang tight on lease extension?

Should I sell, pay the CGT and take my tenant?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hi All, I am looking for some advice. Firstly, I will explain my situation. I have a leasehold flat that I have let for about 4 years to a good tenant. I am now getting major issues with the Residential Management Company and their managing agent

View Full Article: Should I sell, pay the CGT and take my tenant?

First-time buyers make the move to property investing

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Growing numbers of first-time buyers bought properties to rent out last year as the stamp duty holiday prompted more would-be landlords to make investments.

New research from conveyancing solicitor Bird & Co found that while 71% of its clients in 2021 across England and Wales were first-time buyers, between 10 to 20% of those who aimed to become landlords were new to the market. The firm says it’s unclear whether these buyers planned to let the property out as in part or whole, or as a holiday let, adding: “What we also don’t know is whether these first-timer buyers are living at home still, or are able to rent a property whilst also letting another property out…but it is interesting to see that some first-time buyers are in this fortunate position to begin making money as a landlord.”

Stamp Duty Holiday

Its analysis of more than 1,300 transactions in its client enquiries database also found that the majority of home buyers in 2021 were landlords, who had benefited the most from the Stamp Duty Holiday; an average of 58% of buyers who enquired were not buying the property as their main residence, a marked change from 2020, where 35% of buyers were in this position.

In Q1 and Q2 of 2021, 87% of Bird and Co clients and around a quarter in Q3 and Q4 were looking to buy properties as a second residence. It adds: “These statistics show that the buy-to-let sector has continued to hold up during the pandemic. If anything, the pandemic, which spurred the Stamp Duty Holiday, has benefited landlords.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – First-time buyers make the move to property investing | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: First-time buyers make the move to property investing

Council plans licensing fee incentive to reward landlords

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Ashfield District Council plans to drastically reduce fees to reward good landlords if its renewed selective licensing scheme gets the go-ahead.

It has just launched a consultation to repeat the scheme across all rental properties in the Sutton Central (New Cross) and Stanton Hill areas of the Nottinghamshire authority and suggests discounting the £350 licence fee by £100 throughout the five years for those landlords who belong to an accreditation scheme.

Early bird offer

Stacy White, team manager for environmental health, tells LandlordZONE: “In our last designation we did offer this discount but only for the first three months of the scheme – a sort of early bird offer. This time we have considered landlords who may purchase within the five years of the scheme and feel that the offer should be open to any landlord regardless of when they need to apply for a licence.”

In nearby Nottingham, licensing fees for its additional and mandatory schemes are much heftier at £1,330, reduced to £990 for those accredited, while less compliant landlords pay £1,720.

Possible action

Ashifeld councillor John Wilmott, cabinet member for licensing, environmental health and regulatory services, says selective licensing is an important tool that allows it to make improvements to and regulate private housing. “It means landlords and tenants must act responsibly or face possible action from the council – stopping the mindless few who may be causing problems,” says Wilmott. “As successful as the current selective licensing scheme has been it is important that we listen to the views of residents, tenants and landlords who are affected by it.”

The consultation runs until 28th February.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Council plans licensing fee incentive to reward landlords | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Council plans licensing fee incentive to reward landlords

London lags behind rest of UK as rental prices show substantial rise

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Private rental prices increased by 1.8% in the 12 months to December, the highest yearly rate since July 2017, according to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) data.

Its Index of Private Housing Rental Prices shows that excluding London, rental prices for the UK went up by 2.7%, from an increase of 2.5% in November. London’s private rental prices dropped by 0.1% in the 12 months to December, unchanged from the previous month, and was the lowest of any of the English regions. The ONS says this reflects a decrease in demand because workers have switched to remote working, as well as an increase in supply, after many short-term lets changed to long-term lets.

East Midlands

In England, the largest annual rental price increase in the 12 months to December 2021 was in the East Midlands at 3.3%. Private rental prices in Wales grew by 1.5%, down from an increase of 1.6% in November, while in Scotland prices grew by 2.3%, up from an increase of 2% in November and the highest annual growth rate since records began in 2012. The annual rate of change for Northern Ireland at 5% was even higher.

ARLA’s November PRS report found that the average number of new prospective tenants per branch rose significantly from October to November while the number of tenants experiencing rent increases fell for a third month in a row, from 68% in October to 58% in November. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ latest report found tenant demand showing another solid monthly increase in November with a net balance of 48% of respondents citing a rise. The ONS says these supply and demand pressures can take time to feed through to its index, which reflects price changes for all private rental properties rather than only newly advertised rental properties.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – London lags behind rest of UK as rental prices show substantial rise | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: London lags behind rest of UK as rental prices show substantial rise

EPC – Improvement advice for 2025 please?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

We are a company just starting our adventure into the BTL market – we own 1 property and are nearing completion on the second in the North East. This property is well into Level E of the EPC and I’m looking at options we can do during renovation to up the level getting ready for 2025.

The post EPC – Improvement advice for 2025 please? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: EPC – Improvement advice for 2025 please?

commercial demonstrates an impressive bounce back

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Market analysis Sirius Property Finance reveals that the Uk’s commercial property sector has demonstrated an impressive bounce back in the last year, with even the supposedly struggling retail and office sectors showing strong signs of recovery.

In 2021

The post commercial demonstrates an impressive bounce back appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: commercial demonstrates an impressive bounce back

Appeal court to decide in landmark eviction notice case

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Judges are deliberating whether to allow an appeal in an evictions and rental deposit case that threatens to wipe out many letting agents.

The Northwood Solihull v Fearn & Ors case surfaced when the Solihull branch of letting and estate agency Northwood tried to evict a couple who had stopped paying their rent in 2019, and served a Section 8 eviction notice. Tenants Mr Fearn and Ms Cooke argued during an initial County Court hearing that under section 44 of the Companies Act 2006 their eviction notice had not been signed by two authorised signatories or by a company director in the presence of a witness, and that the section 44 requirements also applied to the confirmatory certificate for their original deposit. High Court judges then ruled that this law did not apply to eviction notices, but they did uphold the couple’s claim that it applied to a confirmatory certificate for a rental deposit.

Court of Appeal

At a Court of Appeal hearing, the tenants’ lawyer said the signature on the notice was not obviously the signature of an individual. He explained: “The tenant who receives the notice is going to look at it and see the squiggle and conclude that it was the signature of the company.”

However, the landlord’s lawyer said there was nothing wrong with the section 8 notice and that it made much more sense for a property manager to deal with it than the property owner. He told the court: “The company can appoint someone to sign. It’s very odd that you can grant a tenancy with a single signature but you need two signatures to serve a notice.”

Second signature

He added that regarding the deposit, a signature could include anyone acting on a landlord’s behalf. “Nothing would have improved the tenants’ position by having a second signature added.”

According to property lawyer David Smith of JMW, as things currently stand, if a corporate agent has signed a proscribed [rental deposit] information certificate on behalf of a landlord, then if it has not been signed by a director and witnessed, the certificate will be defective. He believes this could prompt a raft of claims against agents.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Appeal court to decide in landmark eviction notice case | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Appeal court to decide in landmark eviction notice case

5 Year Fixed Rate BTL with no Early Repayment Charges

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The new range is available from 17th January on mortgages up to 80% loan-to-value (LTV). These benefits landlords who want increased flexibility when financing property.

The early repayment charge (ERC) free five-year fixed-rate range is available to first-time landlords

The post 5 Year Fixed Rate BTL with no Early Repayment Charges appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: 5 Year Fixed Rate BTL with no Early Repayment Charges