So, Theresa May would like to end the stigma of social housing and make people proud to have a social landlord (Report, 19 September). This says everything about how out of touch she is, and is deeply insulting to tenants with social landlords. With many years’ experience in advice work, I can assure her that the depressingly long waiting lists for social housing occur because most people in housing need view social housing as the great prize, not a stigma. People are proud to pay fair rents, have a landlord who is likely to take their safety and repairing responsibilities seriously as well as have security of tenure and put down roots in a community. The real fear and stigma lies in the rip-off private rented sector, where high rents trap working people in poverty and increase the homeless crisis with unprovoked evictions.
Sheila Hutchins
Tregony, Cornwall
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters
• Do you have a photo you’d like to share with Guardian readers? Click here to upload it and we’ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition
