Browne is hoping for a quiet Budget with no dramatic announcements. Given how much has already landed on landlords, that in itself would feel like progress.
“Landlords are always very, very nervous of the Budget because irrespective of what people say up front, there’s no guarantees,” she said. “Just because it hasn’t been rumoured, it doesn’t mean some little bombshell is not going to suddenly appear from nowhere. Section 24 came in and no one was expecting it, and then it just landed.”
Mason points to a deeper problem than any individual tax announcement – the inability to make reliable long-term assumptions about an investment typically financed over decades.
“It’s not necessarily higher taxation alone that’s discouraging investment, it’s the uncertainty about what might come next,” he said. “I’d argue that the most valuable thing would be a credible period of stability, rather than another short-term incentive. Landlords don’t necessarily need a giveaway. They need to know that if they invest in a property today, they can make reasonably reliable assumptions about its costs, taxation and financial viability over the coming years.”
‘Just stop the kicking’
Paul Hampton (pictured top middle right), owner and mortgage consultant at Approved Mortgage Solutions in Sunderland, echoes that sentiment directly. “I think most landlords will be happy with just a bit of stability,” he said. “Just stop the kicking. Every time there’s been a Budget, there’s been a change, which has been detrimental to landlords. Most landlords would just like a little bit of time off to get used to the situation, address the situation, and plan how they’re going to make some money out of their portfolio.”
