'Dramatic' changes in buy-to-let sector

The buy-to-let sector has undergone a dramatic change in the past two years, which has been underpinned by the financial crisis.

That is according to the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), which has expressed the opinion that alterations to the UK's banks have had a massive impact upon buy-to-let investors.

A main reason for this is the reduced number of options available to property investors when looking to take out buy-to-let loans.

In 2007 there were six major organisations offering this service in Britain - this has now decreased to just four institutions offering buy-to-let loans.

The RLA stated: "Britain's residential rental sector has been profoundly impacted by the transformation that has taken hold among banks and other buy-to-let lenders due to the financial crisis.

"With buy-to-let loans few and far between, residential property values still very low compared to recent years and rental demand relatively high, the question remains: where will the rental sector go from here?"

Recent Council of Mortgage Lenders research found that the number of buy-to-let landlords in arrears reduced in the last quarter.

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