Many landlords did not intend to enter market

A surprising number of buy-to-let investors end up renting a property almost accidentally.

Landlord website Property Hawk claims that as many as a quarter of all landlords fall into the sector without ever having intended to.

The site's editor Chris Horne says that a change in circumstances can lead to a homeowner owning a second property and he or she will usually see that there is a profit to be made by letting one of the houses out.

"I think it's something like about a quarter of landlords… It's quite a high percentage, relatively," he said.

"I term them 'accidental' landlords [because they] haven't actually set out as such to become a buy to let investor, but through circumstances have ended up with a property and decided to keep it rather than selling it," added Mr Horne.

The most common instance which will see someone becoming an 'accidental' landlord is through marriage or by inheriting a property.

Related Articles