Blackpool mum-of-three dealing with damp and mould facing eviction for raising issue

The plight of a mum-of-three facing eviction from her home was highlighted as housing was placed in the spotlight at a hustings event in Cleveleys.

Hope Barnes, community organiser at Shelter Lancashire which helped organise the hustings, said the mother had contacted the housing charity because she was 'terrified' about becoming homeless through no fault of her own.

Barnes said the case was one of many being dealt with on a daily basis as she questioned candidates contesting the Blackpool North and Fleetwood seat about how they would tackle the housing crisis.

She said: "She had been living in her house for 16 years. She had some issues with damp and mould and she told the landlord and the council. Now she has got a Section 21 (eviction notice)  and has to be out in two months with three children. She is terrified. She doesn't know where she is going to live in two months."

All the candidates agreed housing must be central to future government policies, with calls for rental reforms and for vacant properties to be brought back into use.

Conservative Paul Maynard said housing was one of the main issues he had dealt with. He said VAT which is currently zero on new-builds but 17.5 per cent for properties being brought back into use, needed to be reformed to encourage bringing empty homes back into use.

Clive Grunshaw, representing Labour, said action was needed to tackle absent landlords who allowed their properties to become rundown and warned poor housing had an impact on many other aspects of people's lives leading to deprivation.

Bill Greene (Liberal Democrat), James Antony Rust (Official Monster Raving Loony Party) and Tina Rothery (Green Party)  agreed existing housing needed to be improved and supported reform.

Rothery said: "There are a lot of abandoned properties in this town and we need to be bringing them back into use rather than building out of town."

Dan Barker, of Reform UK, said "fundamentally there is not enough houses" because house building had not kept up with the population explosion of the last 20 years. But he warned against measures which would force good landlords out of the market.

Jan Cresswell is also standing for the Social Democratic Party.

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