When asked if the country could solve the housing crisis solely by building on brownfield sites, nearly a quarter of landlords (24 per cent) said they thought it was possible.

Three times as many landlords (76 per cent) believe that the housing crisis cannot be solved by building on brownfield sites alone.

This summer, Rishi Sunak pledged that his government would deliver new homes without "laying concrete in rural areas" and set out plans to focus home building on established areas.

Gavin Richardson, managing director of the MFB, said building in urban areas is an important factor in delivering more housing, but it is also a capacity issue.

For example, only 2,000 homes can be built on brownfield sites in Oxford, compared with 2,500 in Cambridge.

Furthermore, building homes in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool will not solve the housing shortage in the South East.

"To do this, we must build on London's green belt. Until we accept the need for 'green and brown belts' around London, there will continue to be a shortage of housing in the South East, which of course will support the business plans of thousands of landlords."

Gove announced a review of permitted development rights in July, while he also set out plans to make it easier for large shops, such as takeaways and bookmakers, and offices to be converted into homes. Gove also said red tape could be cut to make barn conversions possible.

59 per cent of landlords think the reforms are "unlikely to scratch the surface" and therefore don't seem likely to have much of an impact on supply.

Only 7 per cent of landlords think the Gove review is likely to achieve much, while 15 per cent think the reforms "may work on a small scale, but not on a large scale".

Some 19 per cent think the reforms could make the housing shortage worse by focussing attention on urban housebuilding - if we were to build enough homes to right-size the housing supply, politicians could ignore the need to repeal planning laws.

In July this year, Michael Gove also promised to set up an Urban Development Corporation, which would have the power to buy brownfield sites and sell them to housing developers.

In his plan to build big cities, ministers will take control of brownfield areas and push through new projects.

Gove said he was planning to set up more than a dozen new development companies which would be able to use compulsory purchase orders and grant planning permission to boost building in urban areas.

Richardson added: The UK needs more homes to realise the dream of more home ownership and to increase choice for renters.

The proposals mean that there will be fewer empty shops or offices at the same time as we desperately need more housing, which is great.

But a review of the rules on permitted development rights will not in itself achieve much.

It's just one small piece of a huge jigsaw - and it won't solve the housing crisis on its own.