It’s not hard to understand why action on buy-to-let investors is popular. But regulators are merely attempting to stabilise the value of landlords’ assetsThe destitute persecuted buy-to-let landlords of Britain. Many are developing a martyr complex – victims,they feel, of a barrage of unusual taxes coming in from next year. They will possess seen the latest intervention last week – potential unusual powers for the Bank of England to restrict buy-to-let mortgages – as yet another blow. In online forums landlords share their woes about the “latest tax grab” and quiz “why are we so reviled?” – although the answer may lie in another discussion thread where landlords swap tips about “How to tell a powerful tenant the rent has to move up a third”.
All the Bank of England is doing is saving landlords from their own greed. It is nearly beyond dispute that buy-to-let landlords possess fuelled price rises generally, and priced out many potential first-time buyers. Now the Bank is concerned about risky lending and wants powers to restrict the size of buy-to-let mortgages,to prevent boom turning into bust. In other words, the Bank is intervening to protect the value of landlord’s assets from falling.
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Source: theguardian.com