SIR – Councillor Joy Squires’ call to license private rented properties (Worcester News, April 5) isn’t without justification, even if it is unlikely to happen.

But there may be a vital need for a different sort of regulation, namely to protect young vulnerable people going into the private sector – especially in the case of renting rooms in the landlord’s home.

In the 1990s I was a manager at Worcester Welfare Rights Centre (now Worcester Housing and Benefits Advice Centre) when our agency started working with homeless persons.

Then, as is still the case, no CRB checks were required in the rented sector.

It worried me at the time but the general consensus in the homelessness advice and support sector was that anything that potentially deterred landlords from renting to homeless clients was counter-intuitive to the aim of meeting housing need as well as unworkable.

A fire/gas safety certificate or an agreeable phone chat or meeting tells you nothing about the underlying persona of the landlord.

After all, in employment those who work with vulnerable groups have to be CRB checked.

Why should it be different for those who want to house vulnerable people under their roof?

Why should their welfare be left to chance? People have to use their discretion and judgement when accepting a lodging but often they have no real choice.

As social housing for single people becomes harder to access due to the impact of the rush to downsize, then the safety of the vulnerable needs to be considered.

While accepting that most landlords are perfectly trustworthy and provide a vital service, we need to be sure that the renting environment is not only amenable to landlords but also safe for particularly vulnerable people.

ANDREW BROWN

Worcester