Landlords 'are actively looking to fill properties'

Claims that many buy-to-let landlords are harming the UK housing market by deliberately leaving properties empty are not true, a new study suggests.

According to a report by Instant Access Properties, just three per cent of landlords said they were currently keeping rental properties empty on purpose.

In contrast, 96.9 per cent of landlords revealed that their properties were either tenanted or were being actively marketed to let.

Pierre Williams, head of communications for Instant Access Properties, said: "We have been increasingly aware of mounting criticism of so-called 'greedy' buy-to-let investors.

"Although it must be tempting for social housing groups to try and find scapegoats for Britain's housing crisis, these accusations do nothing to help solve the problem.

"It simply makes no sense for investors to leave properties empty. Even in the rare cases where investors can afford to keep units empty, there is no incentive to do so as it simply equates to throwing money away."

A recent report from the National Housing Federation suggested that more people will have to rent in the future, as house prices will continue to rise dramatically.