Commercial mortgage lender and bridging specialist TAB has called for sweeping reforms to planning, taxation and housing policy, arguing that the next Prime Minister must do more to support property investors, landlords and businesses. Karen Rodrigues, sales director at TAB, said the specialist lending sector could play a greater role in regeneration and housing delivery, but warned that outdated planning processes and punitive tax measures were holding back investment across the commercial and mixed-use property markets.
Karen Rodrigues, TAB’s sales director provides insight:
“I care very little about the politics and the personalities involved in the race to replace Sir Keir Starmer. But I know what I would like to see the next occupant of Number 10 deliver.
The biggest issue is planning reform. The next PM needs to introduce a refreshed planning system, with statutory deadlines, greater local authority resourcing and a presumption in favour of converting redundant commercial space.
That would facilitate faster approval of change-of-use applications and make it easier to convert vacant retail and office units into mixed-use schemes.
While we are delivering commercial mortgages at bridging speed, the planning system is moving at a snail’s pace – and far too slowly for the businesses and investors it is supposed to be serving. Planning reform would help unlock projects, regenerate communities and support economic growth.
The next government must support the private rented sector; until we start delivering more social housing, the country needs the PRS. Despite this, successive governments have treated private landlords as nothing more than a source of tax revenue. We need to strip out decades of red tape and housing policy intervention and reverse damaging fiscal attacks on landlords.
Let’s reinstate mortgage interest tax relief for individual landlords. Let’s scrap the stamp duty surcharge. Let’s bring back the Wear and Tear Allowance.
“We ought to reform business rates, which remain a major drag on high streets and mixed-use investments. Policies that reduce rates for independent retailers, hospitality businesses and local service providers would support tenants occupying many semi-commercial properties.
We want to do our bit to rejuvenate the high street, but we need the next Prime Minister to create the conditions in which local businesses can thrive.
Stamp duty must be reformed. This could include lower SDLT rates on commercial and mixed-use acquisitions, or reliefs for bringing vacant buildings back into use.
The property market suffers from too much transactional friction. Too often, otherwise sensible deals fail because taxes make them uneconomic. Property investors, landlords and business owners need a system that encourages activity rather than discourages it.
At TAB, we are focused on bringing momentum to lending, but stamp duty is doing the opposite – acting as a brake on transactions, investment and regeneration. Reform would support a healthier property market.
Finally, I hope the next government focuses on long-term housing delivery. This may sound like a purely residential issue, but it directly affects specialist property finance, too.
A sustained programme of housebuilding creates demand for land acquisition finance, refurbishment finance, commercial-to-residential conversions and mixed-use redevelopment. The entire specialist lending ecosystem tends to benefit when housing output rises.”
