Or we could reintroduce rent controls, they seem to work perfectly well in Germany and other European countries.

Instead various governments allowed landlords (private and social) to charge pretty much what they liked, hoping that "the market" would naturally re-adjust. That re-adjustment was never going to happen all the time the taxpayer was funding the difference. The previous Labour government made a start with reducing the subsidies paid to private landlords but only when a tenant moved into a new property. This government went further by including social and council tenants and applying the rule to all existing tenants.

If you look at what's currently happening with the New Era Estate in Hoxton, you'll see that nothing has changed. The estate was recently bought by Westbrook Partners, a private equity company whose shareholders include US and Canadian pension funds. Tory MP Richard Benyon's company Benyon Estates finally bowed to public pressure and pulled out of the Westbrook scheme. They (Westbrook) have now given tenants notice that their rents will TRIPLE. Few if any can afford this rise and will be forced not only to leave the estate but some will have to leave London altogether. Those that find alternative housing will probably be paying more than they were at New Era and the difference will be picked up by the UK taxpayer. That, in any so-called civilised society cannot be considered right.

NEXT have a culture of high staff turnover and don't give a monkeys about it. A family member worked for them for a short while and whenever it's mentioned to anyone in retail you just get "ooh I've heard they're bad".

Not to mention the bullying, but that's getting into murky water when I've got one of RLfans less cryptic handles.

Some very valid points - the difference between the UK and other EU countries is land mass and population increases I suppose. We have a huge shortage of housing so the market simply reflects supply and demand. We don't have a culture where the older relations move in with the younger ones as say Italy that frees up property. It cannot be correct for a landlord to take all the risk in purchasing the property to then to be forcibly prevented from receiving the market rate for the property? If you artificially corrupt the market then you will undoubtedly disturb the property sector and we all know what happens when that occurs.

That's the kind of attitude in business that people have come to expect as default. Bosses treating the employees like crap while feathering their own nests. It's no major secret that if you treat your employees with a bit of respect, they'll be loyal and hardworking in return. The unbelievable thing is that the majority of UK business don't seem to understand this and just plough on with their heads down without a clue what's actually going on in front of their own noses. I've had a multitude of terrible bosses who range from the type who see work as a hindrance to their hobby time to those who'd struggle to tell you what day it was and in the most extreme those who you would question if they were actually human. I've never ever felt any loyalty whatsoever to any of them and have always seen them as a figure of negativity, hence my 'get experience and move on' approach to all of the jobs I held there. It's only now that I've got a good boss that I realise just how important a good boss is!