‘We need a government that will apply the Rent Act 1977 to all new private rented tenancies’

• MORE than £6billion was given to landlords of private housing in the tax year 2022-2023 as tax relief for mortgage interest.

That amounts to £32billion over the term of a five-year parliament.

Some 27,000 landlords received £250,000 on average in 2022-23 which equates to over £1million for each private landlord over a five-year term. This would be better spent fixing the housing crisis.

Stories in the New Journal demonstrate that the housing crisis is fuelled by misery in private rented housing.

In 1989 no-fault evictions were made lawful and the system of fair rents was abolished for new tenancies. This gave unprecedented power to landlords, making them free to evict who they chose and to charge whatever rent they wanted.

The Rent Act 1977, which gave tenants the right to appeal against landlords’ eviction requests and the right to request a fair rent, remains law.

We need a government that will apply the Rent Act 1977 to all new private rented tenancies.

There is no need for a new act of parliament and this could be implemented in the first few days of a new government.

I am sure voters would like to know where the local candidates stand on this important issue and their view should be made known in the New Journal.

MARIA EMILIA JENNINGS, N6