Landlords play a huge, undervalued role in providing hundreds of thousands of homes for people who are waiting to get on the property ladder, according to an industry body.
David Salusbury, the head of the National Landlords Association, highlighted in today's Guardian (March 19th) that campaigners were wrong to accuse property investors of pricing buyers out of the market.
He wrote that buy-to-let investments have equated to an average of 108,000 new homes over the past six years "for people who see renting as a better option".
The kinds of people renting in the private sector are varied and choose to rent for many different reasons, Mr Salusbury points out.
"The 20,000 landlords that I represent at the National Landlords Association are providing real social benefits in their housing provision for other people. This is what buy-to-let is: ordinary people investing in homes for other people.
"While nobody is disputing the fact that we are not doing this for free and do look to make a profit, there is still something decent about investing in bricks and mortar that someone else will enjoy," he claimed.
The statement follows on from the government's announcement of plans this week to give buy-to-let investors tax breaks, in a bid to increase the supply of private rented accommodation in the housing sector.
See Also: Property News (5994)
Date Published: 19 March 2010
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