BUY2LET.COM CALLS FOR AST REGISTER TO ROOT OUT ROGUES & QUANTIFY THE MARKET

November 17, 2015

Buy2Let.com has launched an online petition via the UK Parliament portal, calling for a national register of buy-to-let private rental properties. Just as owner-occupier property transactions are recorded and analysed via the Land Registry, we are campaigning for a register of transactions by buy-to-let investors, to help quantify the market and root out the rogue landlords.

Despite recent attempts by Government and The Bank of England to stifle the buy-to-let sector, the acute shortage of homes and increasing house prices means that the private rental sector continues to pick up the slack.

We frequently see reports and statistics on the owner-occupier market, but the lack of reliable, comprehensive data on the private rental and buy-to-let sector means no-one – including politicians, mortgage lenders and estate agents –  has a clear picture of what is happening in the market. In much the same way as a mortgage charge is registered on traditional house sales, we think there should be a similar requirement for buy-to-let purchases.

The buy-to-let sector generates over £100bn in transactions every year, so it’s vital that we capture the true scale of this important market, and at the same time, use the data gathered to identify and stamp out malpractice and rogue landlords.”

Buy2Let.com is the first portal of its kind to list genuine buy-to-let properties for sale, allowing investors to search and compare properties – which are categorised as vacant, tenanted, and HMOs  – by annual yield; something which current owner-occupier property portals cannot offer.

To view and sign the AST Register Petition, visit: http://bit.ly/ASTPetition

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