FF will use budget talks to get break for accidental landlords

FIANNA Fáil will make tax breaks for landlords a red line issue ahead of the upcoming Budget negotiations – including a demand to let accidental landlords who bought during the boom write off rental losses.

The move comes amid reports of increasing numbers of landlords leaving the market. A survey of 90 auctioneers around the country, by the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, earlier this month, found 1,022 landlords have sold up in the last year.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin told the Sunday Business Post yesterday that he wants measures to make it easier for landlords to stay in the market. He wants landlords of previously vacant properties to be allowed deduct preletting spending. He also wants them to be allowed deduct full mortgage interest and write off property tax against rental profits.

He said the accidental landlords should get tax relief on other income for rental losses and he is going to use the budgetary talks to force the issue through.

Earlier this month Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy accepted that something would have to be done to keep landlords in the market. He said: ‘We have to make sure that we have a continual supply of landlords in the market because we can’t force people to be landlords. We have to make sure that people want to be landlords and they feel that is something that they should be doing in relation to buying a home and then letting it out to a family.’

Despite Mr Murphy’s remarks Mr Martin feels that nothing has been done and it has been left to Fianna Fáil to force the issue through.

The Department of Housing did not respond to questions relating to the Fianna Fáil proposals yesterday.