74% of landlords agree that the buy-to-let market needs greater innovation, according to research from the National Landlords Association (NLA).

Meanwhile, 89% also baelieve it would benefit from more lenders or greater competition.

However, although many landlords were dissatisfied with the current range of buy-to-let products on the market, the research found that property acquisition is on the rise with one in 10 landlords having added properties to their portfolios over the last three months and one in five expecting to do so in the next year.

Also, more than half of landlords surveyed do not believe that access to buy-to-let mortgages is getting any easier, with three-in-five agreeing that their individual circumstances as landlords are not being considered by buy-to-let lenders.

The research also found that 72% of landlords carry borrowing on all or some of their letting portfolio.

Landlords have an average of about eight (7.7) buy-to-let loans held per portfolio, and 20% of landlords took out a new loan or re-mortgaged in the last year.

“Early signs of increasing property acquisition suggest that landlords are feeling more confident about future prospects of the buy-to-let market,” said NLA chairman David Salusbury.

“However, while these findings are encouraging, some professional landlords, with more extensive portfolios, seem to be struggling to secure funds for additional expansion.

“The private-rented sector is playing an increasingly important role in the provision of housing. Buy-to-let products must be sustainable, with consideration for the longer term, if the private-rented sector is to rise to this challenge.”