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Specialist lenders expect the great buy-to-let switch from personal to corporate borrowing to continue apace this year.
New research by Paragon Bank reveals 680,000 properties - 29 per cent of buy-to-let homes - are owned through around 40,000 companies, with another 36 per cent of investment portfolios under hybrid corporate/personal ownership, 23 per cent personally owned and 7 per cent owned by partnerships.
Most landlords opt for corporate ownership to save tax (85 per cent) or to aid succession planning (51 per cent).
Landlords are adding more homes to their companies at the rate of around 100,000 a year, says the research, while the numbers in personal ownership are declining.
The age of landlords affects their choice of property ownership.
The trend is for older landlords to personally own buy-to-let homes, while younger landlords prefer corporate ownership.
Source: Paragon Bank
One reason for this trend is that older landlords have owned investment properties personally for many years and face hefty capital gains tax bills if they sell or incorporate.
"On average, six in 10 landlords purchased their first rental properties as individuals, falling to less than a quarter, 23 per cent, in the time since," says the report.
"Meanwhile, the proportion who held properties through limited company structures when they started out is just under three in 10, the same as today. With mixed ownership increasing more than fourfold, from 8 per cent to 36 per cent we can be confident that landlords have utilised special purpose companies (SPVs) as they have grown their portfolios or incorporated the properties they already own."
Nearly two-thirds of future landlords (63 per cent) told researchers that they expect to own buy-to-let properties through limited companies, while a third of existing investors plan to shift their homes from personal to corporate ownership. Only 26 per cent do not have plans to change the ownership structure of their letting businesses.
Source: Paragon
The report explains that the shift towards corporate buy-to-let is likely to continue as more young investors move into the sector.
Analysing the data shows this is the plan for new and younger landlords, while older landlords are more likely to keep their business structures as they are.
Louisa Sedgwick, managing director of mortgages at Paragon Bank, said: "Our research shows how owning property via a limited company structure has become increasingly popular over the past decade, driven by changes in taxation.
"Nearly two thirds of landlords intend to make future purchases through limited companies, so we expect the overall proportion of property held within a company structure to increase steadily in the coming years, particularly when you include those landlords who will incorporate existing property from personal name.
"It's encouraging to see that they will continue to adapt in this way, particularly the next generation of landlords who seem to have realised the potential benefits of this ownership structure early in their lettings business careers."