A petition that was launched to reinstate tax relief allowing a landlord’s mortgage interest to be set against rental income has now reached 20,201 signatures – and has seen another well-known backer step forward.

The petition was started by landlord Simon Foster who says: “We want the Government to reinstate the ability of landlords to set the full amount of mortgage interest against rental income before tax is calculated.

“Like many self-employed businesspeople, I am a small, well-established private landlord that is now struggling to make any money from letting properties.”

The Government says it will respond to all petitions that get more than 10,000 signatures and when there are more than 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament

The petition can be found here.