Housing market braces for post-Covid ‘triple whammy’ as measures end

Covid measures brought in to stimulate the economy and housing market, and protect tenants from job losses, end today.

Estate agents will be bracing themselves today as a  ‘triple whammy’ hits the property market today with three key Covid-related policies expiring.

Regulations relaxed during the pandemic for stamp duty, evictions and the furlough scheme all expire today, leaving the sales and lettings markets exposed to a full dose of post-Covid reality.

Smaller portfolio landlords in particular can’t be tenant ‘banks’ forever

STAMP DUTY

The final effects of the stamp duty holiday announced on 3rd March by Chancellor Rishi Sunak end today.

The nil rate for SDLT had been set at £500,000 from early March until the end of June 2021.

Then from 1 July to 30 September the nil rate band reduced to £250,000, returning to £125,000 today.

EVICTIONS

The Covid measure to end today is evictions. Landlords and letting agents seeking to evict tenants in England will now only have to give two months’ notice rather than the six months that had to be given prior to today.

“Smaller portfolio landlords in particular can’t be tenant ‘banks’ forever; at some point they have to cut their losses and find a new person who can pay the rent,” evictions expert Paul Shamplina of Landlord Action told BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme yesterday.

FURLOUGH FINISH

HMRC’s furlough scheme, which has cost the government £70 billion but protected 11.6 people from redundancy, is also finishing today, casting perhaps the longest shadow over economic confidence.

The Chancellor, who is preparing for his keynote speech a the looming Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, says:

“I am immensely proud of the furlough scheme, and even more proud of UK workers and businesses whose resolve has seen us through an immensely difficult time.

“With the recovery well underway, and more than 1 million job vacancies, now is the right time for the scheme to draw to a close.”

By the end of June this year, the property industry has received £600 million in furlough support.

With furlough ending, however, some tenants will sadly be left in the terrible situation of not being able to pay their monthly rent and Landlords should be thinking of how to protect their investment income. One such way is via Rent Guarantee Insurance which Centrick can assist you with arranging. Our partner can provide you with a policy that covers:

• Protection if the tenant does not pay their rent
• Rent recovery to recover outstanding debt
• Eviction of tenants or squatters
• Property damage cover
• & more

To ensure your property is covered, get in touch with our Tenancy Management team on lettings@centrick.co.uk

As always, if you wish to discuss your property situation with our team of experts, you can contact the relevant team here