New buy-to-let regulations are making it harder for landlords to keep up to speed with complex compliance responsibilities, as the government drives to improve standards in the private rented sector, according to a new survey.

There are now no fewer than 145 individual laws and more than 400 regulations to follow, which means that it is surprisingly easy for even the most well-meaning landlord to end up breaking the law.

A new survey by TheHouseShop has found that almost one in five landlords – 18.2% – now find it “impossible” to keep up with constant regulation changes, with a further 29.9% saying they find it “very difficult” and another 31.2% finding it “quite difficult”.

The study suggests that some landlords are being overwhelmed by the sheer volume and complexity of rules and regulations in the rental market.

In fact, compliance with law and legislation was listed as the most challenging aspect of managing a rental property by 63.4% of landlords surveyed.

Nick Marr, co-founder of TheHouseShop, commented: “It’s a really difficult environment that landlords are operating in at the moment. The government have undertaken a range of measures to try and drive up standards in the rental industry, and while this is by no means a bad thing, it does mean that landlords have increasingly complex and wide-ranging responsibilities to deal with.”