Andy Burnham’s property tax plans could hit landlords

9:30 AM, 17th July 2026, 8 hours ago

Landlords could face higher costs and a further squeeze on housing supply if the incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham turns to property and personal assets to fund new policies.

The warning comes from David Alexander, the chief executive of DJ Alexander Scotland, who is urging Mr Burnham to proceed cautiously amid discussion of wealth taxes, changes to inheritance and capital gains tax, and National Insurance charges on landlords’ income.

He said some of the measures being considered could damage the housing market, reduce household wealth and affect the supply of homes available to tenants.

Few tax routes open

Mr Burnham has previously argued that Britain’s taxes work too heavily while wealth is undertaxed.

With existing restrictions on increases to VAT, National Insurance and income tax, attention is expected to turn to assets and property as possible sources of revenue.

Policies under discussion include a wealth tax and a land value tax, together with replacing inheritance tax with a levy to fund a national care service.

Other proposals could extend capital gains tax to homes, with a 24% charge on the increase between a property’s purchase value and its value at the owner’s death.

National Insurance on landlords’ income

An annual tax on assets, including property and pensions, has also been raised, alongside National Insurance on landlords’ income and a reduction in the mansion tax threshold from £2 million to £1.5 million.

Should NI be levied on landlord income, Mr Alexander says that owners could respond by selling homes or passing part of the additional cost on through higher rents.

He said: “Introducing national insurance on landlords’ income would also potentially reduce the volume of homes available to rent as well as result in higher rents for tenants.”

Instead, the government should do more to encourage investment, savings and housebuilding rather than extracting more revenue from existing property and other assets.

Stealth taxes won’t work

He also questioned whether taxes aimed at wealth would collect the amounts forecast, arguing that those with the greatest financial resources were better placed to change their arrangements or relocate.

Mr Alexander continued: “Introducing a wealth tax and changing IHT to a levy to fund a national care service may sound attractive to politicians but these policies rarely bring in as much as expected and tend to hit middle earners and savers rather than the rich who have advisers to ensure they don’t pay these taxes.

“The issue is that the homeowner, or someone with assets is often seen as an easy target for taxation.

“They cannot hide their home, so it is easy to identify and tax.”

He added: “The problem is that such policies always target aspiration, thrift, hard work and saving.

“We need to grow the housing market, encourage people to save and invest, and to provide more homes for the population and not tax existing properties and assets.”