A DECADE ago the Buy to Let mortgage was a rareity - today it has become so common some people see buy to let mortgages as a form of investment preferable to a pension plan.

According to ARLA, the Association of Residential letting Agents, Buy to Let has proved to be a force for good in the housing market and a major industry in its own right.

Today over a million households live in Buy to Let properties, which are worth over £120 billion - and the Buy to Let sector contributes over £30 billion to the Uk economy - more than that made by all the pubs, hotels and restaurants and over four times more than the contribution from the motor industry.

Michael Ball, professor of urban and property economics at Reading University, was commissioned by ARLA to write a report into the first decade of the phenomenon and predicts it will continue to grow by 20-30,000 a year over the next 10 years. He also points out that while the demand for Buy to Let mortgages will grow faster, as the sector is still relatively under-mortgaged.

His report shows Buy to Let has also helped spread the private rented sector into areas that had little or no rented housing before, reviving housing markets and assisting inner city regeneration.

The report suggests most tenants are younger mobile people, who now prefer to rent a house and build up savings until they get married and start a family, at which point they move into property ownership.