ThE practices of bad landlords could be put under the spotlight by the Forest Council.

The council was told of a situation where tenants had been evicted five times in as many years.

In his last meeting as a Forest district councillor, Bruce Hogan (Lab, Lydbrook and Ruardean), successfully appealed for the council to back a campaign to protect tenants.

He called for the council to back the campaign to repeal Section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act which, it is claimed, is used by “unscrupulous” landlords to evict tenants.

His motion was extended to include an investigation of the situation in the Forest by the council’s scrutiny committee.

A call to have the investigation instead of backing the campaign “to take the politics out” was rejected.

Cllr Hogan, who is not standing for re-election in next month’s election said Section 21 “caused massive insecurity for tenants.”

He added: “It means they could be asked to leave their home at any moment

“Section 21 fuels homelessness and evictions are the number one cause of homelessness.

“It means local authorities like us are asked to step in and find emergency accommodation,” he added.

The full meeting of the council was told that tenants are afraid to ask for repairs because of the threat of Section 21 being used.

But it was pointed out that once a written request for repairs had been made, Section 21 could not be used to evict a tenant.

The council was also told that there are many good landlords who provide a vital service.

The proposed inquiry could also highlight good practice by landlords.

It was unanimously agreed to back the campaign and to ask the new council, which is elected next month, to hold a scrutiny inquiry into the issue.