Tenant demand rose in the North West and South West of England in Q3 2020, according to 44% of landlords. A sizable proportion also reported rising tenant interest in the East Midlands (40%), South East (except London, 38%), the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber (both 38%), Leeds Building Society research shows.

However, at the other end of the scale, landlords with property in central London continued to be the hardest hit, with only 16% reporting an increase in tenant demand, and 58% reporting a fall in demand.

Matt Bartle, head of products at Leeds Building Society, said: “It will be interesting to see whether the trends we have seen in Q3 continue and whether landlords make changes in their portfolios that reflect this changing demand and start to shift their attention away from London to other regions.

“Since lockdown we have seen a strong recovery in the buy-to-let market to pre-lockdown levels, with a surge in purchase activity. This is likely to be down to a number of things such as pent up demand and landlords looking to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.”