The survey of over 2,700 landlords also found that 85 per cent had seen rent either rise or maintain its current levels while the number of landlords suffering rental arrears had fallen from 26 per cent to 19 per cent.
The lender insists that the research points to a bright outlook for the buy-to-let market for the rest of the year.
Andrew Moss, product development manager at Mortgage Express, said: “Our research findings are clear – the buy-to-let market remains buoyant with high levels of confidence from landlords and sufficient demand from tenants to support this.
“Landlords are benefiting from the continuing rise in property prices and the outlook for tenants is positive too, as confident buy-to-let landlords are investing in their properties.”
Around 42 per cent of landlords have spent between £1,000 and £5,000 on improving the last property they acquired, according to the survey, with 26 per cent spending over £2,000.
The landlords questioned also said they were fully aware of the recently introduced Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) legislation, dispelling any fears that buy-to-let landlords would be caught unaware by the rule changes.
Moss added: “Landlords are taking the changes in their stride and see bricks and mortar as a sound long-term investment, for capital growth or to fund retirement.”
Brian Poole, mortgage adviser at AM Ruthven & Associates, agreed: “Nobody I know has been caught out over the HMO legislation and most people seem quite happy about it. The people who we deal with regularly on the buy-to-let side haven’t been put off and the number of buy-to-lets we’ve been doing hasn’t declined on last year, which is good for us.”
