Semi-detached houses have overtaken terraced homes as the preferred property type landlords plan to buy, said Paragon Bank.

The buy-to-let specialist said the change reflects growing tenant demand for larger homes.

Paragon found that 14% of landlords plan to acquire new property during 2022. Of those looking to buy new rental property, four in 10 intend to purchase semi-detached homes, with 39% seeking terraced houses.

The proportion of landlords that are looking to invest in semi-detached properties to let has increased over the course of the pandemic, said the lender.

Detached houses have also grown in popularity during the past two years. The proportion of landlords seeking this type of property has climbed from 9% in the second quarter of 2019 to 18% at the end of 2021.

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Richard Rowntree, mortgages managing director for Paragon Bank, said: “The pandemic has accelerated some of the trends we were already seeing in the profile of tenants, such as older tenants and more families, resulting in growing demand for semi-detached and detached homes.

“We have certainly seen a more recent trend for higher demand for larger homes due to a greater prevalence of home working, whilst we have also seen more families sell their home to relocate and renting before they buy.

“We may also be seeing landlords anticipating the planned changes to Energy Performance rating of property and targeting homes that are either meeting the planned minimum EPC level of C or those that will be easier to upgrade than terraced homes. It will be interesting to see whether this trend continues in the coming months.”