I was saddened but not surprised to see the article on the rental crisis in the UK (‘It’s a total disaster!’ How soaring rents, cutthroat competition and unscrupulous landlords are breaking tenants, 1 September). I am in a similar situation. I am a midwife, so a key worker, and after living in Mexico for the last four years, decided to move back to the UK to work for the NHS.
I was offered a job in York in May and I have been house hunting there since early June. I’ve made countless trips to York from Northumberland, where I am staying with my parents, and have been turned down for every property that I’ve applied for, even though I have good references and a guarantor if needed. On one occasion, I was on the train going to view a property only to be called and told that it had already gone. On another, I was told by an agent that they were waiting for a response from the landlord, only to be told later by their colleague that the landlord had turned down my application days ago.
