Landlords and letting agents can look forward to another bumper year, due to the continuation of low interest rates and the gradual easing of lending restrictions by financial institutions which has seen many buy to let investors return to the marketplace to expand their portfolios.

This positive news comes from nationwide tenant referencing firm Landlord Assist which says landlords are not only obtaining their finance at a competitive rate but, in most cases, are buying at a significant discount to the 2007 peak.

As a result landlords can now enjoy a positive income stream, capital growth and see inflation erode the value of their mortgage debt over a period of time.

Graham Kinnear, MD at Landlord Assist, said: “There are few tangible investments at present which can offer growth, income and a positive hedge against inflation quite like the buy to let market.

Investors have taken advantage of weak prices and strong rental returns over the past year, and with the base rate unlikely to increase anytime soon the good news for landlords is that they can enjoy the favourable conditions for some time yet.”

Demand for private rented properties is set to remain strong for the foreseeable future as more and more people are now choosing to rent than ever before.

This has been caused by a lack of mortgage availability for homebuyers in the residential mortgage sector and the difficulty for would-be buyers to raise large deposits imposed by lenders.

Subsequently many tenants are renting for longer periods than they initially envisaged, thereby providing landlords with greater security.

Kinnear added: “For landlords looking to expand their portfolios now is the perfect time to capitalise on high demand, low supply stock and low interest rates. With the rented sector predicted to represent 25 percent of housing stock over the next few years it could be an ideal long term investment.”

• Two Vietnamese men who tried to flee when a landlord discovered them operating a cannabis factory inside his rented property were caught and arrested after his friend chased them and managed to flag down a passing police car.

The drama started when the landlord went to check what was meant to be an empty house in Alum Rock, Birmingham in December 2010 only to find the two men inside. After their capture a search of the premises revealed 178 cannabis plants.

But that wasn’t the end of the story. The two men were granted bail while investigations were carried out but could not be tracked down after they failed to turn up for further questioning.

One of them Tran Manh, was arrested a year later when he was found once again looking after a cannabis factory following a police raid on another Birmingham property. On this occasion nearly 300 plants were found.

Manh admitted two charges of producing cannabis at Birmingham Crown Court recently and was jailed for four years by Judge Patrick Thomas QC.