Britain's falling home ownership rate blamed on buy-to-let small-time landlords

London

THEY have pocketed some of the most lucrative returns available to investors in recent decades and been a staple of newspapers' personal finance pages, but tougher times now lie ahead for Britain's army of small-time landlords.

So-called buy-to-let (BTL) investors - who usually own at most a handful of properties - have enjoyed 20 years of surging house price growth and rents, and annual returns of nearly 10 per cent.

They accounted for almost one in four house purchases funded by a mortgage last year, a chunk of the market unseen in other big economies. Overall, there are nearly two million private landlords in Britain, owning almost 20 per cent of homes.

Their power is politically sensitive in a country where house prices border on a national obsession, reflecting the fact that most people have the vast bulk of their assets tied up in their home. Critics argue that BTL distorts the market and makes it even harder for ordinary peop…