Buy-to-let 'not damaging' first-timers

The recent boom in the buy-to-let market has not necessarily been at the expense of first-timer buyers in the capital, as they are likely to be seeking different properties.

Simon Gordon, a spokesperson for the National Landlords Association (NLA), said that the high value of properties in London is likely to be prohibitive to those taking their first step on the property ladder.

"There is no automatic link between being a property that a first-time buyer will be able to afford and a buy-to-let property," he said.

Mr Gordon added that, particularly in central London, buy-to-let properties are likely to be of a high quality to appeal to renters and are therefore "not necessarily the type of property a first-time buyer will be purchasing".

Of the suggestion that buyers ought to pay a tax on second homes or buy-to-let properties, Mr Gordon pointed out that this may not be a blanket solution as the housing market across the UK differs.

"The housing market in London and the south-east is very different to the housing market in the north-east," he said, adding that "in cities and towns in the north-east some landlords have trouble renting out their properties".

A recent report from Assetz forecast that buy-to-let landlords would weather further interest rate rises by passing costs on to their tenants.