Alastair Mitton Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Ealing Central & Acton hit out at Tory timidity in reforming the rental sector.

Alastair Mitton said: "Liberal Democrats say that whilst landlords will be banned from evicting tenants with no justification there will be nothing to stop them hiking the rent so excessively that tenants have no option but to leave. It's constructive eviction, a tactic that is rightly banned in the workplace. These proposals are part of a long-promised overhaul of the private rental sector in England and are very overdue, sadly they don't go nearly far enough. Liberal Democrats say it will be far too easy for unscrupulous landlords to get around the new laws."

Alastair Mitton added: "Under the Conservatives, tenants feel increasingly insecure. We have been calling for no-fault evictions to be abolished for a long time. Liberal Democrats want to see an extended default tenancy from 1 year to 3 years, to give renters certainty. During the 3-year period, rent would only be allowed to increase each year in line with inflation and we would ban no-fault evictions."