Assetz: FSA should regulate all property investments

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) should oversee regulation of property investments as a whole and not just the buy-to-let sector, Assetz has said.

This would ensure risks to investors were adequately disclosed and would prevent mortgage mis-selling, the property specialist claimed.

Amateur buy-to-let investors would also be protected from misleading marketing activities which boast inaccurate yields, the organisation said.

Stuart Law, chief executive of Assetz, said that recent call to extend the FSA's powers the buy-to-let sector were "a step in the right direction".

"If implemented well [these proposals] could deliver a greater willingness by lenders to lend again into the buy-to-let sector by reducing risks and further improving transaction transparency," he said.

He added that further regulation of the sector would stop "speculators with no money" from entering the buy-to-let market.

This would aid the recovery of the housing market as lenders would begin to see buy-to-let as a "lower risk sector", meaning loan to values and interest rates would become "more competitive" for landlords, he said.

Get a let property insurance quote today from Simple Landlords Insurance