1 week Ago
For young entrepreneurs late to the buy-to-let boom, the solution has become 'rent-to-sublet', otherwise known as 'rent-to-rent' – but who are the winners and losers of property speculation and what does 'rent-to-rent' reveal about the balance of Britain's economy? Alex Watkins is a father of three who has three jobs, but estimates it will be years or even decades before he and his partner Jenny Knowles can afford to buy on their current income. In contrast, the family found out that their last landlord owned the entire street, and the family have become politicised by being on the wrong side of Britain's ownership divide. Furthermore, renters who want to own are also competing for properties with those who already hold property portfolios and are buying more in a game of Monopoly that renters cannot win.
Britain's buy-to-let boom Bricks and mortar are not only where most Britons' wealth is stored, but also the biggest single business type in the country. In Britain, there are currently 4.5 million investment properties and this year buy-to-let firms became the largest single type of business registered on Companies House, according to the estate agent Hamptons.
In February, the number of these firms surpassed 400,000 and there has also been an increase in huge institutional buyers, such as hedge funds and investment banks like BlackRock, acquiring thousands of homes. For smaller investors, the buy-to-let boom started in the 1990s, with changes to tax and tenancy laws which were further incentivised by low interest rates in the 2010s on new buy-to-let mortgages. However, recent reforms and rate rises appeared to make buy-to-let business less lucrative and even loss making, whilst increasing barriers of entry for young and new investors with less capital to spend.
The need for a lump sum deposit meant that property concentrated in the hands of older people, with over half of buy to let properties being held in the hands of those over 60. However, property..
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