The media would have you believe that there is a battle being waged between first-time buyers desperate to own their own home on one side and buy-to-let landlords snapping up all the reasonably priced properties on the other.

But this isn’t necessarily the whole truth.

Although most people aspire to property ownership (the latest BSA Property Tracker showed only 5% thought people should not aspire to own their home), many are putting off this commitment, choosing instead to rent for a period first.

Renting is increasingly seen as a tenure of choice, valued for the freedom to relocate for work or to move in with a partner. Younger generations tend to see renting property as a more convenient option than buying and buy-to-let landlords meet this demand.

Despite various government initiatives, there has been very limited investment in the private rented sector by companies and, despite the changes to Stamp Duty for portfolio investors announced in the Budget, we are unlikely to see significant corporate investment in the near future.

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For landlords, investment in buy to let fills an important function too; many are choosing to get into buy to let as an alternative form of pension planning.

We’re also seeing increasing numbers of ‘accidental landlords’ who have been unable to sell a property and who are renting it out instead.

Much has been made of the importance of first-time buyers to the housing market, but first-time sellers are vital too. Buy-to-let landlords often purchase properties from first-time sellers, enabling further transactions up the housing ladder.

Supposing you were to take away buy-to-let landlords: would you immediately solve the problems of first-time buyers?

I don’t think that you would. In fact, I think you make the predicament of those looking for a home worse by removing a valid form of tenure.

That is why I am concerned about the recent proposed EU directive which could potentially bring buy-to-let lending within the scope of mortgage regulation.

Under the current proposals, mortgages would have to be assessed based on the landlord’s income, excluding the rental income from the property. The effect of regulation would be to greatly reduce the number of buy-to-let landlords to the detriment of the housing market.

Buy to let is an important part in a vibrant and sustainable housing market and I think we should be encouraging it, rather than curtailing it through unnecessary legislation.

Paul Broadhead is head of mortgage policy at the BSA