There are many private landlords out there are present who are making a very healthy income from the soaring demand for rental accommodation at present.

The current state of the mortgage market, where many people – especially younger first time buyers – are unable to get a mortgage has seen demand for rented home rocket and rental income soar.

The demand for rental accommodation is now so high that demand by far outstrips supply. Prospective tenants are falling over themselves to try and get their hands on rented accommodation and this has pushed up the income that many landlords are receiving on their property investment, with some tenants even resorting to sealed bids in order to try and gazump other people that have shown an interest in the rented property that they want.

However, there is one gap in the market that private landlords have yet to fill and this is making double rooms in shared properties available to couples. A recent report has highlighted how the days of the 'love nest' have gone. High rental costs have made it difficult for young couples who want to live together to rent their own apartment, flat, or house.

Many couples are therefore looking at alternatives such as renting a room in a shared property, where they can still live together but can also benefit from shared bills, rental costs, etc, which gives them the opportunity to save. One industry expert said: "For many, the idea of sharing an intimate flat with their partner has had to be placed on the back burner, and sharing with flatmates has become a financial necessity.”

In fact, there has been a 91 percent increase in the number of couples looking to rent shared accommodation over the past twelve months according to figures and there has also been a 400 percent increase in the number of double rooms for rent that have come onto the market. However, landlords may be missing out on rental opportunities because many are not catering or gearing these rooms towards couples.

One official said: "Many landlords still don’t want to feel outnumbered in their own homes by lodgers, and tend to ban couples – just one in six landlords will accept them.

For the limited number of rooms, couples are competing against single tenants – who are often preferred. But landlords who will tolerate couples get a welcome extra boost by sharing monthly bills among more people,”

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