'I wanted to be a landlord with 10 properties, but I bought 400'

When Phil Stewardson and his brother Mark bought their first rental property in 1995 they intended to buy ten properties over the next decade to serve as a pension pot.

Over the next 26 years they bought close to 400 residential properties in need of renovation, which they refurbished and either let or sold on.

"Most of the houses we have bought, buyers wouldn't touch. The properties have ranged from tatty, to absolutely squalid," he said. "But that is part of our business plan, you have to be able to add value in some way. Once we have refurbished the property we will review it, and either hold on to it and let or sell up. But we have never evicted a tenant to sell the property on."

The 57-year-old professional landlord invested in the market one year before the buy-to-let mortgage, which today celebrates its 25th anniversary, launched to consumers.

It helped to usher in the age of buy-to-let, turning everyday investors into professional landlords. It led to a boom which pushed up the number of private renters by 122pc, reaching 4.4 million in England last year, according to analysis by Hamptons, the estate agency.

The sector is heavily regulated. Landlords in England must now adhere to 168 pieces of legislation, a rise of 40 per cent over the past decade according to the National Residential Landlords Association. But despite this, thousands of rogue landlords are still falling through the cracks.

"The industry is over regulated but under enforced," said Mr Stewardson. "Most rules wouldn't be required if someone was responsible for enforcing the basics. "There are some really bad landlords out there who take no notice of any of standards or legislation," he added.

Unexpected revival

The buy-to-let market has made an unexpected come back, however, despite an increased regulatory burden and mounting arrears throughout the pandemic.

Landlords and lettings agents have reported unprecedented demand from tenants locked in bidding wars to secure a rental property. This, combined with a shortage of available lets, has pushed up rents across the country.

Mr Stewardson said: "All of our properties are let at the moment. If we had ten become available today, I would be confident they would all let by the end of the week."

He added: "As the saying goes, the best time to invest in property was ten years ago. The second best time is now.

"But if investors don't do their research they will have a tough time of it. It is vital to identify the demand in the market and satisfy it, rather than buying something you personally like and then trying to find the demand. That just won't work."

'It took property into the arena of the masses'

When Vanessa Warwick, 59, first became a landlord in 1992 she fell into the profession by accident. She was working as a MTV presenter in London and rented out her studio flat in the capital when a defective lease meant she could not sell it.

Ms Warwick has since built a portfolio of properties across the UK, including one and two-bed flats in London, bigger houses in the M3 and M4 corridor and two holiday lets on the south coast.

"The buy-to-let mortgage took property out of the domain of the wealthy, and into the arena of the masses, and has helped millions of people to use property as a vehicle to create significant wealth," said Ms Warwick. "Property has served me well over the years, and I believe that it will serve a new generation of landlord too.

"But there are caveats. You need significant cash funds and will need to commit to treating your rental properties as a business, as well as taking a long term view. The property market has defied all predictions about what Covid-19 would wreak on it, but we are not out of the woods yet," she added.

Money is cheap at the moment, with lenders keen to compete for landlord business. "Cheap money is a major commodity, and it’s useful to bag some while it’s around and fix your rate for five, or ten, years for peace of mind," said Ms Warwick.

In the past 10 years alone interest rates on buy-to-let deals have almost halved, from 5.61pc in 2011 for a five-year fix to 3.25pc now, according to data firm Moneyfacts. There is more mortgage choice too. There are now more than 1,000 five-year fixed buy-to-let deals available in the market, compared with 63 in 2011.