Insurance News Archive

Buy to let insurance policyholders 'rush to sell up'

Posted by Dan Winters

Estate agents have reported a massive rise in the number of landlords wishing to sell properties before a proposed tax increase is introduced.

According to the Guardian, buy to let insurance policyholders are "panicked" and hurrying to offload properties before capital gains tax is raised by up to 32 per cent in an emergency Budget on June 22nd.

James Hyman, a partner of south-east agency Cluttons, told the paper that his firm has seen a "noticeable" increase in enquiries from landlords looking to sell.

He said: "Most of them want to know whether they have enough time to get the sale through to the point of exchange and whether they would get full price for the property."

The proposed changes would see the sale of a £200,000 property originally acquired for £100,000 net its owner £150,000, with the maximum planned tax amount of 50 per cent.

This comes at a time when monthly rent in the UK is rising to near-record levels. According to LSL Property Services, the average rate rose to £663 in April – a 2.2 per cent increase on the same period in 2009.

20 May 2010