Mar 15
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Is buy-to-let regulation the answer to the housing crisis?
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Published by The Economic Voice on Monday, 02 March 2015 by Ben Gosling
In October 2014, the Bank of England requested the power to place limits on both buy-to-let and residential mortgage lending. By using so-called ‘powers of direction’, the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) hoped to be able to direct financial sector regulators to place limits on loan-to-value and debt-to-income / interest coverage ratios granted by lenders [1].
The government released proposals to grant the FPC this legally enforceable power with respect to the residential market, but said that it would “consult separately” on the buy-to-let market in 2015 [2]. This month, it emerged that this consultation would likely not take place until after the general election [3].
