‘The government points the finger at landlords but makes incompetent decisions’

• I FULLY agree with the advice Robert Taylor gives to struggling tenants in his letter published on July 20, (Tips for struggling tenants in crisis).

He however prefaces this by stating that the private rented sector is at the heart… of the cruel realities of the housing market, and as a private sector property provider I disagree with this conclusion.

The housing sector is in crisis and nobody disputes that. This government refuses to take the blame which many see to be a direct result of its and previous government’s own actions principally; the fall in social housing; the lack of commitment to build all types of housing; and the freezing of LHA (local housing allowance).

Instead the government points the finger at the landlord “the bad guy”; incompetently makes centralised decisions; believes its own populist rhetoric and thinks it is doing something worthwhile through measures making it tougher for the supply side such as taxing landlords on revenue and making it harder to evict anti-social and seriously-in-arrears tenants.

This approach by government seems to be its modus operandi across the board. Attack a problem they have caused by (i) picking a scapegoat and attacking it with populist rhetoric; (ii) not listening to the players involved; (iii) issuing central edicts that make attractive soundbites and then (iv) expressing surprise or dismay when matters get even worse.

When a previous Conservative government incompetently privatised the water industry, handing over masses of value to international investors, is it any wonder Thames Water is now in such a mess? If you are reading this as a junior doctor might the command and control from the incompetent centre not sound familiar?

Well that arrogant incompetence with 15 housing ministers since 2010 is how it feels to the vast majority of landlords and seeing an end to this blame strategy is something to look forward to so that we can work together to find a solution. In the meantime matters get worse and critically important relationships fracture.

ALEX SHINDER, NW3