By Caroline Mirakian, Head of National Accounts at Pepper Money

Life is beginning to grind back into gear, but it’s a different gear to the one in which we entered the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wearing face coverings on public transport and in shops, for example, will be part of life for quite some time and working from home will be a new reality for many.

We’ve already seen many landlords take advantage of the recent stamp duty changes to add to their existing portfolios, but there are also other benefits on offer. A lesser known knock-on effect from this tax break is that it can also provide landlords with the opportunity to incorporate existing properties into a limited company structure.

There has been much talk about the pros and cons of incorporating a property or portfolio into a limited company structure in recent times. By adding further monetary gain into this equation, all types of landlords are re-evaluating their positions to see if they would be better off operating as a limited company.

The buy-to-let sector has seen a raft of positive news in recent times as lenders are becoming increasingly active and landlords are taking advantage of some favourable conditions. The recent change in the stamp duty threshold has served to generate an even greater volume of enquiries and this demand is showing no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

Of course, the additional 3% stamp duty surcharge on additional properties will still apply, but investors will benefit from not having to pay the standard stamp duty on purchases of up to £500,000. According to research from Hamptons International, the stamp duty holiday will save the average investor almost £2,000 which will encourage more landlords and investors to add to their portfolios before next spring, and many are looking to take advantage of this sooner, rather than later.

The buy-to-let sector is well accustomed to change, but this doesn’t mean that landlords should become complacent when it comes to the implementation of any new policy or legislation.

In a quick recap of recent BTL-related events, April saw the introduction of minimum energy efficiency standards and the second part of the Tenant Fees Act was introduced in June. It is now time for landlords to turn their attention to the new electrical safety standards which came into force on 1st July. This means that all electrical installations must now be inspected and tested by a qualified person before a new tenancy begins.

After the Government confirmed that it is revising the 14-day quarantine measures for a number of popular overseas destinations, this leads to the question: how many people will be comfortable travelling abroad for their holidays and how many will opt to stay within the UK borders?

We’ve seen a huge amount of tech innovation throughout the buy-to-let marketplace in recent times and even more so during the pandemic. This period has really shown how lenders and advisers are utilising a variety of online platforms to support landlords, investors and developers in getting to grips with shifting market conditions.

There has been a plethora of webinars, online events, virtual roadshows, launches of Covid-19 information hubs and live feeds, plus regular updates across social media. And this demand for information around BTL was evident when a recent series of webinars hosted by specialist finance trade body FIBA saw a whopping 1,000 registrations from the intermediary community.