Buy-to-let investment in the long-term still has strong potential to beat savings rates by a significant margin over the coming years, despite tax increases, according to Allsop’s latest issue of the Rent Check, a barometer for the rental market in England and Wales published with BDRC Continental.

The survey reveals that 37% of landlords anticipate growing rents over the next six months, a year-on-year increase of 36%, and 44% of landlords had ‘good’ or ‘very good’ expectations for their own letting portfolio over the next three months.

However, the percentage of landlords intending to purchase one or more property in the next 12 months fell to 16%, the lowest level in just over four years, since the Rent Check begun in the autumn of 2012. Around four fifths (83%) of landlords reported that obtaining buy-to-let finance had become more difficult in the last six months.

Paul Winstanley, partner at Allsop, said: “For those with equity to invest, buy-to-let returns still have the potential to outstrip savings accounts over the long term. Whilst tax changes and toughening lending criteria is challenging landlords, most are in it for the long term and we still only expect a small minority to exit as the tax changes feed through.”