Two-thirds also admitted that their tenants had defaulted on their rent or not paid the monthly fee on time.

David Lawrenson, private rented sector expert at LettingFocus.com, recently urged property owners to discuss the issue with tenants as a first step, as a lack of communication is often the start of problems.

The study indicated that many buy-to-let owners feel exploited by irresponsible tenants, however a third admitted that they are unaware of the legal requirements associated with renting out a property.

Research indicated that landlords are not the only ones with complaints, as a quarter of tenants said their landlord takes more than five days to react to any reported problems.

Spokesman for the Tenancy Deposit Scheme Malcolm Harrison recently urged landlords to carry out inventories and register deposits with a protection service to ensure they meet legal requirements.

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Richard Gale, head of property multi-manager at Aberdeen Asset Management, said that London is one area landlords are focused on, within both the commercial and residential market.

“We have seen some significant previous lenders simply coming out of the market. Income growth is pretty hard for investors to find or even to create,” he added.

Mr Gale noted that the most appealing factor for landlords and investors is security of income, particularly with some inflation protection.

“If your tenant is paying rent that is growing with RPI but their income isn’t, then all you need to do is remind yourself of the Southern Cross issue, which is precisely what happened to them,” he added.

The care home operator shut down, after landlords owning all 752 of its care homes said they wanted to leave the group.

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Tom Entwistle, editor of Landlordzone.co.uk, said that credit checks and referencing can help to protect landlords against late, partial or non-payment of rent.

Before agreeing landlord home insurance, proprietors should also look at rent guarantees or legal protection cover which offers extra peace of mind if fees are not paid on time.

“Not all landlords do these things, but it is becoming much more of a common practice with experienced landlords,” he noted.

Currently, landlords can take on tenants under the government’s Rent a Room scheme, where they can receive up to £4,250 a year tax-free.

This optional initiative is based on gross income, before taking away any expenses.

The scheme is also open to those who share a home and both choose to let a room out, with the tax-free amount being cut to £2,125 each.

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Some 32,300 loans worth £3.7 billion were advanced in the first quarter of this year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

The buy to let sector has increased its share of the mortgage market in recent months and years, representing 12.8 per cent of outstanding lending at the end of March 2012, from 12.2 per cent in the first three months of 2011.

Private rents rose dramatically in 2011 as people unable to raise the deposit needed to get on the housing ladder remained in rented homes.

This has led to some lenders expanding their ranges for landlords amid renewed interest in the sector, although the average maximum loan-to-value available remains at 75 per cent.

Paul Diggle, a property economist at Capital Economics, said: “With all the evidence suggesting that landlords are having little difficulty letting properties to frustrated would-be buyers, that share is only likely to grow.”

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It claimed that landlords should focus on attracting a good, long-term tenant in their property, rather than capitalising on the Olympics and Paralympics.

Reports have suggested that some landlords in the capital are evicting tenants and remarketing their properties for as much as £6,000 a week.

The housing charity Shelter says it has seen more evidence of landlords acting unscrupulously, and fears the problem will get worse as the Games approach.

Housing minister Grant Shapps said: “Landlords should be under no doubt that it is a criminal offence for them to evict a tenant without giving proper notice, and that anyone found guilty of doing this - or of harassing a tenant - could lead to a custodial sentence of up to two years.”

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Andrew Leech, director at the National Home Improvement Council, said that DIY jobs are taking second place as many are struggling to make ends meet.

Mr Leech was commenting on a recent survey from Lloyds TSB which revealed that spending on home improvement projects has declined to its lowest level in over 15 years.

“A lot of these people who can’t improve their homes will still have a holiday abroad or a new car; they can afford money for that sort of thing, but they turn a blind eye to the property that they live in,” he added.

Mr Leech went on to say that if the current housing stock is to be maintained to the level that it deserves then a lot more personal money will have to be put in.

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David Alexander, owner of a letting agent, told the Scotsman that new landlords often have unrealistic expectations of the rental market.

“Some are totally unrealistic and think everything should be in exactly the same condition at the end of the tenancy; they can’t expect that. It’s not a simple case of taking the rent and not spending money on the property,” he added.

It is also important for new landlords to get to grips with the latest regulations in the sector.

Making sure a property is competitive in the rental market is vital, as well as checking that tenants are responsible and will leave the home in a good condition.

Checking current and previous employment, as well as renting history and references can help achieve this.

Also, it is vital to spend money on a property, tenants will quickly become unhappy if a landlord takes the rent but doesn’t improve the property.

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Hans Vrensen, global head of research at DTZ, said the capital values of commercial properties will be very resilient.

“In Europe, we see some of the industrial or logistic sectors being negatively impacted, but pretty much across the board globally we are expecting capital values to be resilient,” he explained.

However, he revealed that in the next five years there will be some winners and losers in each of the regions.

“We forecast a temporary pause in this activity because we forecast transaction activity to be down by about six per cent [...] before picking up in 2013,” the expert noted.

Knight Frank recently revealed that despite the impact of the eurozone crisis and a degree of investor caution over the economy, the south-east office investment market in the UK has been buoyant in terms of activity.

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David Lawrenson, private rented sector expert at LettingFocus.com, said that landlord insurance is very important.

“New people who get into letting properties out may think they can get away with standard home insurance, but it is not going to cut the mustard,” he explained.

Using normal home insurance on a rental property will mean landlords are not covered in many situations as it simply does not take into account all the risks associated with letting a property.

Mr Lawrenson that the correct type of landlord insurance can cover lost rent if those rentingmove out unexpectedly, or even malicious damage by tenants up to a certain monetary value.

“It is going to be a more thorough level of cover than the standard home insurance, although not necessarily that much more expensive,” he concluded.

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While it may seem like an ideal opportunity for landlords to capitalise, Michael Banks, commercial director at Upad, believes it would be “foolish” to focus on high-rate short-term lets.

He added that the Olympics will not generally affect the market, as a month is not enough time to dramatically change trends.

“The Olympics is a short-term blip and some people are going to make some money out of it, but anyone who is a real landlord and lets their properties out to long-term tenants would be somewhat foolish to turn around and either evict their tenants or focus on two weeks of rental income at an inflated price,” the expert added.

Recent studies have revealed that relationships between tenants and landlords are currently strained, as the economic situation is impacting on people’s ability to pay their rent.

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