Landlords are unfazed by Brexit and tax changes, according to a survey by Simple Landlords Insurance.

It found that four in five landlords have no intention of changing their plans to invest in buy-to-let properties, despite June’s announcement that the UK would leave the EU.  

Only 9% said the Brexit vote meant they would postpone expanding their portfolio, while 3% said they were likely to invest even more, the same proportion that said they planned to sell a property.
 
Taxing times

The survey also revealed that the majority of landlords won’t change their investment strategy as a result of government plans to cut tax relief on buy-to-let mortgage payments.

Seven out of 10 of landlords polled said the reduction of tax relief on buy-to-let mortgage payments would not affect their plans, and 4% said they were planning to invest more as a result of the changes. 

12% said the changes meant they planned to wait before adding new properties to their portfolio, while 8% said they would now sell one or more properties.

However 20% of landlords said they expect to increase their rents in next year, which could indicate that some plan to pass on the costs of buy-to-let tax relief to tenants.

Jenny Mayes from Simple Landlords Insurance said: “While some landlords are adopting a cautious wait and see approach and slowing down their investment, others see opportunity in the changes and the vast majority want to keep or grow their property investment.

“Landlords are reacting in different ways to political changes, but one thing they have in common is that most are refusing to let negativity deter them. With many, reevaluating their objectives, changing their strategy, moving to limited company ownership or focusing on capital appreciation they are ultimately continuing to invest.”