Scope to innovate
As for whether there is scope for more innovation in the BTL lending market, Mr Morrey believes although the sector is far more competitive than a decade ago, landlords and intermediaries would like to see a relaxing of rules, particularly regarding tax.
“One idea would be to permit landlords to transfer their properties from personal to limited company with reduced/eliminated stamp duty.
“Lenders could help by being better at assessing and permitting student lets, holiday lets and Airbnb – all of which tend to be more profitable to landlords, so potentially decreasing risk of defaulting,” Mr Morrey observes.