Home security

On the very rare occasions that the Tories act in a way that doesn't significantly worsen social problems (hello austerity!), they almost always offer only a sticking-plaster solution that cannot hope to improve the situation in the long term because it fails to deal with the root cause.

So it's surprising and refreshing to learn that so-called no-fault evictions are to be banned. Not only are Section 21 notices ripe for abuse by unscrupulous landlords, which destabilises families and contributes to homelessness, but their mere existence makes tenants fearful of lodging complaints about their accommodation in case their landlords respond by booting them out.

Prior to becoming first-time homeowners in Cardiff, we were renting in Abingdon, and were lucky to have a very reasonable and helpful landlord (though the less said about the letting agents, the better...). However, a great many people are less fortunate, forced to endure living arrangements that are unacceptable and/or precarious, and anything that can prevent the current homelessness crisis from worsening should be welcomed.

Of course, landlords will grumble about the change - as the one quoted in the BBC article does: "People like me are going to think, is it worth bothering any more?" Hopefully he's right. Landlords are part of the problem, not part of the solution. The more who decide to quit and put their properties on the market, the more homes there will be available for people to buy and the more affordable they will become.