Call for regulation to stop buy-to-let landlords buying newly built properties

The government should introduce new regulations preventing buy-to-let landlords from buying newly built properties and introduce a lending cap to prevent another housing market boom, a think tank has said today. 

The Strategic Society Centre added buy-to-let landlords were blocking first time buyers from getting a foot onto the property ladder and were a barrier to social mobility.

 The number of rental properties has skyrocketed in the last ten years from 2million in 2000 to 3.6million today.

James Lloyd, director of the Strategic Society Centre, said: 'The government champions 'aspiration' and getting ople on to the property ladder. But the last decade has seen the unending growth of the private rented sector, with more and more private tenants trapped renting seeing their dreams slip away.

'But building new homes will never be enough for the government to help people's aspiration for home-ownership without new restrictions to ensure that new-build homes go to new homeowners.'

The report calls on the government to tip the balance back in favour of first-time buyers by implementing:

• A ‘new-build buy-to-let mortgage moratorium’, preventing the purchase of new-build homes with buy-to-let mortgages;
• A ‘buy-to-let lending cap’ on the proportion of mortgage lending by banks that can be distributed buy-to-let mortgages;
• A ‘three-year rule’, such that short-term tenancy agreements cannot be drawn up in relation to homes that are less than three years old, to ensure new-build homes become owner-occupied.