Published on 26 Nov 2025
”Charles Curran of PCL estate agency Maskells calls this policy “another ill-advised attack on the private rental market.”
“Of all of the floated policies, this we feel is the best outcome.”
— Charles Curran, Managing Director at PCL estate agency Maskells
“The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Parliament meets” – paraphrased from a comment made by Will Rogers (1879–1935), US social commentator, where Congress was part of the original quote.
“We all expected higher taxes and after many months, we have them. However, of all of the floated policies, this we feel is the best outcome.”
“Whatever the Chancellor said, we will have to wait for HMRC guidelines to fully understand the implications, but the bands (revealed as a £2,500 annual charge for properties between £2–£2.5m, £3,500 at £2.5–£3.5m, £5,000 at £3.5–£5m and then £7,000 for homes worth over £5m) do at least allow the market to absorb this, recalibrate and move forward.”
“Interestingly the tax, due to be implemented in 2028, was described as payable alongside an increased council tax by ‘owners’. We assume that this does not include tenants in rental properties, but if it is to be collected at the same time as Council Tax, we wonder if this has been thoroughly thought through.”
“Of course, we expect litigation over valuations and potential cliff-edges for properties which are currently valued just over the proposed thresholds, but for those that comfortably sit within a set band the additional cost will have little to no impact on the market but clarity will.
“In a further blow to landlords, the additional 2% increase in ‘unearned income’ is another ill-advised attack on the private rental market. We believe that an additional 2% income tax on rental income will not necessarily deter existing landlords, but they will, of course, seek to maximise their returns which may now be greater in other asset classes. We fail to see how this helps families seeking to rent who cannot afford to buy.
“Moving forward, for property in Prime Central London, we think that buyers and vendors will seek to find a common ground, and transactions will continue. This increase in taxation is negligible bearing in mind the capital values we look after. The uncertainty we have seen over the last four months has done more damage than the budget itself. We can all now move on and transact. Correctly priced properties will find interest.
“Overall, there was nothing said by the Chancellor that was not announced by the OBR’s technical error or that was muted in the press over the past few weeks. Yet as we always say, the devil is in the detail and we await HMRC’s guidance.