- Buy-to-let has become increasingly unprofitable for landlords with mortgages
- Factors persuading them to get out of the sector include falling house prices, higher costs and changes to capital gains tax.
- Using a company structure isn't always a solution that works
- Landords on the hunt for better yields might want to look north
It’s a tricky time for buy-to-let investors. Between rising mortgage rates, less generous tax treatment and tightening regulations, for many landlords the numbers have stopped adding up. With demand for rental properties still very strong, an autopsy of the market would be premature – the patient still has a pulse – but profits are not what they used to be, and managing a rental property has become an increasingly time-consuming business.
As a result, an increasing number of landlords are choosing to exit the sector, while those who remain are pondering the best way to adapt to the new market conditions.