According to one of the biggest lenders that just under one in three landlords want to become full time landlords and give up their present job.

The study by the lender says that 29% of landlords would love their properties to supply them with the income needed to give up work.

The study also says that the majority of landlords would need to rent out ten properties to fulfil their ambition. It also states that landlords who have between 5 and 10 properties is now standing at 37 per cent and those with 11 to 19 homes is now 55 per cent.

The lender says that the best way to achieve the dream of a full time income for landlords is not necessarily bound by the number of properties within a portfolio and that "gearing" may also help.

Gearing lets landlords buy more than one property as they are able to split the money as deposits over a few properties, rather than just buying a single home. This is also highly advantageous as any risk to the business is spread over two or more properties, rather than one. Multiple properties can also offer a group price appreciation.

A spokesperson for the lender says “Splitting an investment over multiple properties through buy to let mortgages has the potential to increase rental yield when rents and interest rates align in the right way. Since mortgage payments are tax deductible, it also increases the net rental income that a landlord receives,

“But bear in mind though, that using gearing to expand a buy to let portfolio leaves landlords more vulnerable to both interest rate rises and void periods. Longer term, fixed rate mortgages are one means of managing this risk, and building potential void periods into rental projections should form an important part of investment planning.”

The lender feels that investors should take advice on increasing their number of properties from independent mortgage advisors.