Over 600 private landlords came together in London on Thursday 9th June to learn how the legal challenge against the government's hugely controversial tax changes towards the Buy-to- Let sector is progressing.
The Tenant Tax Summit which was initiated by two private landlords Chris Cooper and Steve Bolton, had a wide range of industry figures speaking including the politician Lord Howard Flight, former Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party, who expressed views on how the controversial Section 24 clause in the 2015 Finance Act can be overturned. The Olympic Gold Medal winning athlete Kris Akabussi, now a landlord himself, closed off the event with an inspirational talk on how to overcome life’s challenges.
Since the ‘shock’ announcement in the post-election Budget from Chancellor George Osborne in July 2015, a coalition of landlords and associated property trade groups have come together to challenge the Section 24 clause with the aim of gaining a Judicial Review in the High Court. The 'Fight the Tenant Tax' campaign has been primarily funded by crowd funding and initially raised £50,000 in just eight days in December 2015 to commence a legal action. The fundraising campaign has now raised a further £100,000 with a ‘stretch’ target aim to achieve £250,000.
As previously reported in Property Investor News, the legal challenge is being led by Cherie Blair QC, wife of the former Prime Minister, and Mrs Blair herself was at the Tenant Tax Summit on 9th June.
After notifying the government of its intention to challenge Section 24, an application to the courts for a Judicial Review has been submitted. Due to delays in the court administration process an announcement as to whether the case will be heard in the High Court has understandably led to some uncertainty.
However Chris Cooper and Steve Bolton are “very confident”, based on the advice given by their legal team that their legal challenge will proceed into the High Court. They are now planning an awareness campaign led by Westbourne Communications - in respect of explaining the implications of Section 24 to a wider audience and their belief that this will increase tenant's rents as many landlords will opt out of the sector in future.
The coalition of landlords are urging all landlords and associated service providers with commercial interests in Buy-to Let to grasp just how serious the threat is to the sector and to back their campaign through funding contributions and also by making more landlords aware of the future threat to their finances.
The crowd funding website is at: www.crowdjustice.co.uk/case/tenanttax
Watch the interview with Lord Flight here
