Treasury plans to regulate buy-to-let mortgages could scupper the Government’s objectives to increase investment in the UK private rental sector, the Building Societies Association (BSA) has warned.

The BSA said in its response to the Treasury’s consultation that extending regulation to buy-to-let mortgages would fail to address the underlying issues in the buy-to-let sector and, could result in even more lenders’ withdrawing from the market as new proposals fail to reflect the investment decisions that buy-to-let borrowers make.

Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage policy at the BSA said: “The decision to enter into the buy-to-let market is an investment decision made by the borrower. Including buy-to-let mortgages in the same regime as owner occupied mortgages would not be practical. Subjecting buy-to-let investors to affordability and suitability assessments in the same way as owner occupiers is not appropriate