The survey was completed by 2,000 homeowners with children and also found that, of those surveyed, 53% of parents would consider downsizing to help support their children through university.

Student buy-to-lets consistently outpace the rest of the private rental sector market, by as much as 17.86% in rental yield.

The Trussle research also revealed the UK’s cheapest university towns to purchase a buy-to-let property. Offering the most value for money, Belfast topped this list with an average house price of £152,175, followed by Aberdeen (University of Aberdeen, £154,480) and Dundee (University of Dundee, £174,173).

Miles Robinson, head of mortgages at Trussle, said: “It’s true that buy-to-lets aren’t the bargain that they once were. Changes to tax and the stamp duty surcharge have impacted returns, which made rental the king of investments, leading to a peak in popularity during 2007.

“However, this new data shows that property is still seen as a safe and reliable way of generating extra income. This can be both in the short term, through rent collection and long term gains in house prices.

“In addition, the low interest climate means would-be landlords can lock-in a competitive buy-to-let mortgage, which are typically interest only.”