Housing crisis

WhY is it so expensive to rent a home?

My daughter, who is 41, has rented a property from the same landlord for 17 years. The rent has always been paid on time and she has kept the house immaculate.

But she has been given notice to quit by the end of March. We have trudged around properties that clearly have not been maintained, yet they want top money, extortionate deposits of the equivalent of two months’ rent, a month’s rent in advance and other fees.

Bearing in mind the average two- bedroom property is around £1,000 a month in this area, she would need to pay out more than £3,000 before she would be able to move in. It is outrageous.

To add insult to injury, landlords insist they will not accept children, smokers, pets or anyone on benefits.

The council and housing associations have turned her down because as her son is 21, he is not deemed to be a dependent child.

I really do not know where she will end up. A couple of sleeping bags and the pavement is looking likely.

JILLY MONAGHAN, Eastbourne, E. Sussex.