New research published by Aldermore this week shows that over half the UK’s buy-to-let landlords (52%) expect tomorrow’s changes to stamp duty and buy-to-let mortgage tax relief to have no real impact on them.

Key findings:

• While 52 per cent of landlords overall expect the changes to have no impact, older landlords (over the age of 55) are even less worried, with 61 per cent expecting to see little impact.
• Only 13 per cent of landlords plan to buy any further properties.
• Overall, 14 per cent said they would increase rents to cover costs.
• Landlords believe that two-bed flats will experience the highest growth in rental value over the next 12 months (38%), followed by family homes and one-bed flats (both at 32%).

The research, carried out amongst 1,000 landlords by YouGov on behalf of Aldermore, explores how the recent changes to buy-to-let, which are due to come into force on 1 April, have affected landlords, including whether they would raise rents, sell their properties and what they thought the future was for the private rented sector.

Seven-in-ten respondents expect the number of tenants in the private rented sector to increase over the next five years, but a third (33%) of landlords feel the overall value of the buy-to-let market will decrease over the next 12 months.

The majority of landlords (63%) in Britain own only one property that they rent out, with 95 per cent of respondents owning five or fewer properties.

Commenting on the research, Charles Haresnape, Group Managing Director Mortgages at Aldermore, said:

“These figures show that the majority of landlords believe there is nothing to fear for the future of the buy-to-let market in the UK. It is clear that the vast majority of landlords fall into the ‘accidental landlord’ category, and as such would be unaffected by upcoming changes as they are not actively looking to build a rental portfolio.

“With 70 per cent expecting the number of people in the private rented sector to rise over the next five years, it is vital that regulation does not stifle this hugely important segment of the UK housing market, particularly at a time of significant supply constraints.

“The majority of our buy-to-let customers are committed long-term landlords. While they will obviously not welcome an increase in stamp duty, over the course of a 20 year investment the sums remain relatively small and are unlikely to significantly affect the buy-to-let market.”