The ‘Buy-to-Let: Under Pressure’ report by the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) has revealed that between 2000 and 2017, UK buy-to-let landlords invested £289bn into the private rented sector (PRS).

This brought 1.8 million properties into the rental market, while real rental prices decreased by 4.4% across the country during the same period.

IMLA has called for a brake to be placed on further policy interventions in the UK’s PRS to prevent a further decline in investment driven by tax and regulatory changes.

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Kate Davies, executive director at IMLA, said: “The raft of regulatory and tax changes that have hit the buy-to-let market in the last year have far-reaching effects that are still yet to be fully realised.

“We know that the majority of people regard owner-occupation as the tenure of choice, but for many this is not an immediate option.

“We also know that those who would in the past have rented from their local authority or housing association now need to rent privately.

“Various interventions by [the] government have apparently been aimed at encouraging more first-time buyers and making investment in buy-to-let less attractive to existing and potential landlords.

“But the PRS plays a vital role in our housing supply and it’s essential that a sensible balance is struck if tenants are not to be disadvantaged by shrinking stock and higher rents.

“We urge the government to reassess the impact of the recent far-reaching regulatory changes to buy-to-let investment and allow a period of policy consolidation.”