The first house was full of cockroaches and bed mites – although it has to be said that the tenant did not look the tidiest.

The second was more disturbing – unsafe electrics, mould everywhere, disgusting conditions, and no heating for three years.

As the reporter Tony Livesey said, he wouldn’t even put a dog in there.

In case you missed it, here’s a link to a piece in the One Show about HMOs being rented in Oxford (it starts at 2 minutes, 36 seconds in).

Interesting, too, to hear Sir John Major comment on the number of local authorities using, or not using, the powers available to them to bring rogue landlords to justice.

Surely an extra power should be to force such inadequate landlords to hand the management of their property over to an agent signed up to a recognised body.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b047znw1/the-one-show-09072014