Rents rise across almost ALL of Britain as new landlord tax takes effect
05-18-2016
TENANTS suffered a jump in the cost of rents across almost all of Britain last month, as a new stamp duty charge for landlords and second home came into force, analysis has found.
The cost of new tenancies outside London over the three months to April were on average 5.1 per cent higher than a year earlier, found HomeLet.
In the capital the figure was 7.7 per cent, with average rents now at £1,543 a month.
Excluding London, the average rent across the UK is now £764 a month.
The North West of England was the only region where rents were lower than a year earlier, falling by one per cent to £659 a month on average.
From April 1, anyone buying a home for buy-to-let is required to pay an additional three per cent in stamp duty, typically adding thousands of pounds extra to the upfront cost.
For a typical landlord the added tax will be the equivalent of 11 months - almost a full year - of earnings, according to estate agent Countrywide.
Many experts said the cost will still be passed on to tenants through higher rents.
However, HomeLet found that, so far, the pace of growth in rental prices has not drastically changed from what it was before the tax hike.
Rents increased by 4.9 per cent in the three months to March, excluding London.