SOUTHAMPTON has been named among the top buy-to-let hotspots for landlords in the country.

The city has joined London, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham and Manchester on the list.

Areas situated in the London commuter belt, area such as Slough, Luton and Milton Keynes are also growing in popularity as landlords look for value outside the capital, according to the analysis from Barclays Mortgages.

Barclays compiled its data after analysing more than 5,000 of its buy-to-let customers who purchased a property in 2014 or 2015.

It also commissioned research among 500 buy-to-let property owners, and found that more than three-quarters (75 per cent) of them own more than one property.

Landlords in Bradford or Glasgow were particularly likely to own multiple properties, according to the survey.

Interest in the buy-to-let market has increased in recent years as poor returns on savings in the low interest rate environment has driven investors to hunt for good decent returns on their cash elsewhere.

Property prices have grown strongly in some areas of the UK in recent years.

According to recent figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), buy-to-let lending jumped by 22 per cent in May compared with a year earlier.

But in the recent Budget, it was announced that landlords will see their tax breaks restricted.

Wealthier landlords receive tax relief at 40 per cent and 45 per cent – but this tax relief will be restricted to 20 per cent by April 2020.

From April 2016, a 'wear and tear allowance', which allows landlords to reduce the tax they pay, regardless of whether they replace furnishings in their property, will also be replaced by a new system that only allows them to get tax relief when they replace furnishings.

The top buy-to-let hotspots in 2015, according to analysis by Barclays Mortgages, with the position of these areas in 2014 in brackets, are:

1. (1) London 2. (7) Birmingham 3. (3) Bristol 4. (17) Nottingham 5. (18) Manchester 6. (13) Reading 7. (47) Leeds 8. (6) Southampton 9. (50) Peterborough 10. (19) Slough.