Beadle said: “The Chancellor’s pledge to do whatever it takes to support those affected by the pandemic will ring hollow for thousands of tenants and landlords across the country.
“The government has admitted that private tenants have been hardest hit by the pandemic, and figures show that most of those in arrears are unable to access emergency housing support from local authorities.
“Despite this the Chancellor has failed to provide the sector with the financial support needed to pay off rent debts built as a consequence of the virus.
“Without help to get arrears cleared, many tenants face the prospect of losing their homes and having damaged credit scores, which will undermine the government’s efforts to help Generation Rent become Generation Buy.”
Angus Stewart, chief executive of buy-to-let mortgage broker Property Master, instead suggests British landlords will be breathing a “sigh of relief” from today’s measures.
Stewart said: “There will be a sigh of relief from Britain’s landlords that they have escaped a rumoured hike in Capital Gains Tax in today’s Budget.
“In fact, the Budget looks to be very good news indeed for landlords.
“Even the increase in corporation tax will pass most landlords by as it only kicks in for companies making profits above £50,000.
“The full extension of the stamp duty cut until the end of June that the Chancellor announced today was at the upper end of what landlords were hoping for given the length of time it was taking to clear the usual purchase hurdles in time to complete by 31 March.
“But the Chancellor went beyond that and by continuing to exempt purchases up to £250,000 from stamp duty he will give a boost to confidence and encourage landlords to continue to invest.
“Going forward the picture we are currently seeing of continued strong rental demand, competitive mortgage rates and continued house price growth will encourage landlords to grow their portfolios.”
