With the long-awaited Autumn Budget now just days away, uncertainty is running rife and the rumour mill seems to be spinning faster than ever.
Political U-turns, government mixed messaging and a number of jittery market reactions have left most people – including many so-called ‘experts’ – wondering what the Chancellor will announce next week. From our point of view as a local specialist HMO lettings and management agency in Ipswich, the question is how it will affect the properties our clients own and that we let out on their behalf.
At LEA Property Solutions, where we focus on HMO lettings and management across Ipswich and the surrounding area, we know that both landlords and tenants alike are asking the same question:
“What’s coming in the Autumn Budget 2025 – and what will it mean for my property (or, indeed, portfolio!)?”
Rather than speculate on all the changes that could be coming, let’s focus on what matters most to the people we look after: lettings, compliance, and the day-to-day realities for the Private Rented Sector (PRS) in Ipswich.
Read on for our lettings-focused review of the economic backdrop shaping this year’s Budget, plus the potential policy areas we think Ipswich landlords should keep a close eye on next Wednesday.
The Economic Backdrop
Growth: Weak
GDP is barely moving, rising only 0.1% last quarter. General confidence is fragile, and this is a sentiment that feeds into the lettings market.
Many landlords are delaying non-vital refurbishments and have held off on new investments, waiting for the dust to settle – although we are learning that there is a generational divide, with younger investors proving less risk-averse.
Millennials now make up half of shareholders in new buy-to-let company formations, often focussing on the HMO sector – a phenomenon we covered in our recent article: ‘Millennial and Gen Z – The Next Generation of Landlords’
Employment: Softening
Unemployment has crept up to 4.8%. Demand for shared housing remains strong in Ipswich, but job security naturally affects tenant affordability and indeed moving for jobs is often what brings single sharers into our local market in the first place. If unemployment continues to rise, then no doubt it is something that could seep into the shared-housing rental market.
Inflation: Sticky but Now Easing
Inflation has dipped slightly to around 3.6% in October, having held at 3.8% since July. That is at least a little bit of good news – some rare good news, in fact, for the Chancellor, as she prepares to deliver this Budget. Nevertheless, it does still remain above the Bank of England’s 2% target.
Interest Rates: Holding at 4%… but cuts are expected
A Reuters poll of market analysts has revealed a consensus view, expecting a rate cut in December and a further cut during the first quarter of 2026 – something that has now become more likely still following that recent confirmed dip in inflation.
Mortgage lenders may act sooner than the next MPC vote to cut their own product rates in advance, now that the direction of travel seems to be pointing that way.
That said, for the time being we are seeing:
- SVRs around 7%+
- Fixed rates around 5%
Rental Market Snapshot in Ipswich
While sales prices have wobbled this year, they have risen by 3% in Ipswich over 12 months according to ONS data. Positive, in that this is higher than the 2.3% growth witnessed in the East of England as a region, but of course it means that property values have not quite kept pace with inflation – and this is a story seen across most regions nationally.
Rents however have continued rising, by 5.7% in Ipswich, and actually by 5.9% in the East of England.
The market remains strong but impending Budget announcements have altered the status quo, and it is little wonder that landlords are concerned about what might lie ahead this week, especially given the uncertainty that prevails, not helped at all by the number of leaks, reversals and U-Turns we have seen over the past few weeks.
Seven Potential Measures Ipswich Landlords Should Watch Out for in the Autumn Budget 2025
Of everything we have seen discussed and suggested over the past few days and weeks (and remember, a Telegraph article has suggested up to 100 tax rises may be in contention) here is our pick of the bunch: seven measures that could be brought in which might most affect the lettings market here in Ipswich.
1. Stamp Duty Reform
Often speculated on, when it comes to Budgets but never truly reformed or altered, and often only temporarily if at all. Nevertheless, this year, rumours do well and truly abound. These include:
- Abolishing SDLT entirely (actually not so unlikely, following a suggestion by Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch that a Tory government would look to do this)
- Switching SDLT from buyers to sellers
- Phased payments rather than upfront, to ease the burden
- A new annual property tax on higher-value homes
If SDLT changes were to be introduced that make buying easier and less expensive, tenants who have long harboured a desire to purchase rather than rent could find themselves in a position to do so. And that would naturally reduce the pool of potential tenants, which could lead to longer void periods for landlords, and could slow down the growth in rental values and reduce yields.
Of course, even if stamp duty were abolished or for some reason reduced for buyers, the likelihood is that the levies exacted on second home purchases will remain and potentially become greater. No sweetener here, we suspect, for landlord buyers.
2. Council Tax Rebanding
Council tax bands still use 1991 values, and there is a widespread expectation that these could finally be updated in the Autumn Budget 2025.
There are several implications in this for Ipswich landlords:
- Homes modernised or extended since the 90s may well jump up a band or two if large-scale reassessment takes place, with the burden falling on households (i.e. tenants) who are already stretched
- Empty homes, second homes and short lets (such as Airbnb) may be targeted
3. Capital Gains Tax
We have seen some speculation that CGT allowance could be reduced, and that tax levels might rise.
There is also speculation around a potential CGT charge on gains on primary residences over £1.5m.
This would not affect most Ipswich landlords directly, but there are situations we see where landlords move into a rental property they own, taking it as their main residence for a period before selling.
It could be a means to stop this practice taking place.
This measure is one that is felt to be less likely than others to come through – so for the time being, we would say that it is one to watch, but not to panic over.
4. Income Tax, National Insurance & VAT – Landlords’ Big One
If the Chancellor avoids raising income tax directly, we may see changes such as:
- Frozen tax thresholds (fiscal drag)
- Higher VAT on goods/services (impacting refurb costs)
- National Insurance on rental income
That last one is the headline as far as the lettings market is concerned. We covered the possibility in more detail in this previous article, here.
If NI is applied to rental income, the implications are that:
- around 360,000 landlords nationally could be affected
- yields could fall by up to 10% for many landlords
- we may see more “accidental landlords” or older landlords whose investments have ‘done their job’ exit the sector
In Ipswich, where margins for many landlords have already become that much tighter due to increasing mortgage rates and other rising costs, this is something that could have a real impact.
5. Inheritance Tax & Wealth-Based Property Measures
Possible measures include:
- Lower IHT thresholds
- Higher tax rates introduced
- Wealth-based levies on property portfolios
- Some sort of ‘mansion tax’ on the sale of high value properties
Landlords with multiple properties, or with larger homes held long-term in family ownership, should certainly keep an eye on any announcements relating to inheritance or wealth taxes.
6. Renters’ Rights, Compliance & PRS Regulation
Even without the Budget, landlords are already adjusting to:
- The Renters’ Rights Act and what it means
- Increased compliance requirements
- Changes to mandatory reporting (including Making Tax Digital – see our previous article here)
- Pressure to make green improvements (EPC changes covered in a previous article here)
The Budget could bring:
- Stiffer EPC requirements
- Incentives for insulation or heat pumps
- Additional compliance tied to rent increases or evictions
Any additional regulation, layered on top of high mortgage costs, may push more landlords to consider exiting and so some sort of sweetener, such as those possible incentives for landlords to make green improvements, seem likely as a measure to persuade wavering landlords to stay in the market.
7. Mortgage Market Support for First-Time-Buyers
There is some expectation that measures will be tweaked, strengthened, reintroduced or brought in as new, aimed at helping people get on the property ladder. Possibilities include:
- Support for low-deposit mortgages
- Help to Buy-style schemes
- Relaxing of affordability tests
- Mortgage guarantee schemes or extensions to existing schemes
Of course, anything that creates more first-time-buyers is typically seen as a good thing, but it would mean tenants leaving the rental market behind, and as alluded to earlier, this could cause void periods or reduced yields for landlords. It isn’t an unreasonable concern; however, demand for shared housing is high in Ipswich, and in general terms we do not foresee this to be likely to greatly prejudice landlords here.
Measures the Lettings Industry is calling for
The above, so far, highlights key points that market commentators have discussed and suggested as possibilities, and represent some of the areas we think could most affect landlords in Ipswich.
On top of that, however, lettings industry bodies and indeed letting agents themselves have been urging the Chancellor to introduce concrete support to address acute pressures facing the private rented sector.
Key calls include uprating Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to better reflect current market rents, enabling more low-income tenants to secure private lets and reducing rent arrears, and that includes tenants in shared housing.
Many are also seeking reform of Universal Credit – especially changes to the five-week wait and payment mechanisms – to prevent arrears and ensure smoother tenancies.
Another priority is reinstating mortgage interest tax relief for individual landlords, which would help mitigate increased costs and stem the flow of properties leaving the sector. There is also widespread demand for direct support or incentives – such as reviving the Landlord Energy Saving Allowance – to encourage energy efficiency improvements and help properties meet upcoming minimum EPC standards
More broadly, letting professionals argue that targeted measures to ease compliance costs and boost supply are essential to stabilise rents and maintain a healthy, accessible private rented sector for both tenants and landlords.
Final Thoughts: What Does the Autumn Budget 2025 Mean for Landlords?
The only real certainty seems to be more uncertainty! For a few more days at least.
Nevertheless, whatever does happen on Wednesday, LEA Property Solutions will be on hand to break it down for you clearly and practically to ensure you understand what has changed and how it affects you here as an HMO landlord or shared housing tenant in Ipswich.
Despite anxieties, the Ipswich rental market remains strong. When it comes to HMOs, we enjoy a market driven by demand from professionals as well as students, with the overall lettings market here kept busy and buoyant by a steady supply families renting, often long term.
In any case, we will get to work on a full post-Budget breakdown as soon as the Chancellor sits back down on the front bench.
If you need help understanding what it all means for your property or portfolio, we are here to talk through your options – Lucy Lea – Managing Director.