Changing the tax policy on rental income on its own cannot resolve the shortage of supply

The policy challenge for government is to provide a supply of affordable homes for those who wish to become owner-occupiers while ensuring  reasonable cost rental accommodation is available for tenants

If tax policies are to be changed, it might be more effective to look at ways either to accelerate construction or reduce construction costs rather than ways to dampen down the after-tax returns on completed units.  File picture: Dan Linehan

The latest development in the housing crisis is the threat to apply the tax rules so as to dissuade larger institutional investors from buying into the residential property market at the expense of owner-occupiers. 

It’s a strategy that has already applied to smaller landlords in the private sector for many years.