The British Property Federation, a pressure group which represents investors, has this week claimed that Buy-to-let mortgages should be regulated by the City watchdog in the same way as other home loans. 

Buy-to-let mortgages are, at the moment, generally treated as business loans, unlike other mortgages which are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).  

The British Property Federation claims that this change in the rules and regulations would halt “reckless lending”.  

Many amateur landlords were drawn into the buy-to-let market during the boom and the Federation argues that regulation would protect such landlords with less experience. 

Many lenders simply threw money at buy-to-let borrowers during the boom without sufficient checks on who they were lending to or what they were lending for. Consumers have suffered as their buy-to-let dream turned sour and many buy-to-let lenders were at the root of our economic problems. 

Curzon Property Investment, a company which finds properties for buy-to-let investors, says that the lack of regulation has been an “anomaly” for some time in the mortgage market.  

The government is reviewing the mortgage market and a report is expected in the coming weeks. However, action on the matter is only likely to occur after the general election next year. I shall keep an eye on this story and update when there are developments.