Rising interest rates and difficulties obtaining a mortgage have made becoming a buy-to-let investor much harder, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).

The organisation said that the deposit required to secure a buy-to-let mortgage is now so high that only investors who already have considerable capital behind them can afford to become a landlord.

David Stubbs, a senior economist at Rics, commented: "Would-be investors who have missed out on the impressive returns of previous years are now finding the hurdles to property investment are higher than they imagined."

However, he argued that those who already let properties should have built up enough equity to be able to continue to buy further homes, something he suggested "should ensure that demand from the buy-to-let sector does not dry up entirely".

Separate research by the Landlords Association appears to support this view, with the group revealing that 23.4 per cent of investors plan to buy more properties within the next five years.

A further 60 per cent plan to retain the properties they currently have but do not intend to buy further properties.