RLA chairman Alan Ward said: “The private rented sector is now the only housing tenure growing, with demand set to increase further.
“As the financial secretary to the Treasury has alluded to, encouraging growth in the sector is good for jobs and good for all those looking for a home.
“The Chancellor has a golden opportunity to go for growth which we urge him to seize.”
Responding to a parliamentary question last month the financial secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke MP noted that private rented housing “supports the economy through improved labour market flexibility”.
With the vast majority of landlords being individuals renting out just a few properties, the RLA said the government must use the tax system to recognise this as a business activity which it currently does not.
Among its proposals made to the Treasury, the RLA is calling for an end to the anomaly that means that VAT can be reclaimed where a new home is built for owner occupation but not for rent.
To support the Government’s ambitions for home-ownership, the RLA is calling also for roll-over relief on capital gains tax where the sale of a rented property is to a first-time buyer, with suitable controls to prevent abuse, such as an upper limit on price.
