My home is my safe haven where I can totally relax, unwind and be my authentic self.

It’s a place of love and laughter, where plans for the future are made  and where I feel secure and have peace of mind.

It’s a solid foundation, which started off as a blank canvas, where hopes and dreams have now been built. A place where I have put my own stamp on it and made it welcoming to others.

I know how fortunate I am, but I can often forget how difficult it is to get council property these days and this is why private landlords are becoming more and more popular. Not through choice but sheer desperation.

I’m hearing lots of horror stories from tenants of privately rented property and how they are being treated like second class citizens.

I was really surprised to hear about the lack of security tenants have due to ridiculous 6 and 12 month leases. I mean it isn’t worth unpacking, is it? How can you feel settled and secure with such a short tenancy hanging over you?

One of the  said that they are too scared to report a repair to their landlord in case of reprisals. The main one being a rise in rent, which I believe happens regularly. So, they just put up with things.

Another person complained about the mould in his son’s bedroom so many times that the landlord served him notice and he had to move out.

My nephew has just moved into a two bedroom house in Tameside (one of the cheaper boroughs in Manchester). The rent is £900 per month – this is more than double what you’d pay for a council house.

He’s trapped because saving for a deposit to buy is out of the question and he doesn’t have enough points on the housing list.

What a way to live! Under a big cloud of uncertainty and in substandard living conditions which are having a terrible effect on people’s mental and physical health and wellbeing. What impact must it have when you can’t be heard or too frightened to speak up about your living conditions?