I REFER to your article in the Gazette (August 13 'homeless fears for single mum').

My partner has a small residential portfolio that I manage on his behalf. We welcome both housing benefit tenants and private tenants and currently have several long term housing benefit tenants, including a long term tenant who came from a drug rehabilitation centre.

In our experience the character of the tenant and the respect they have for the property and the terms of their tenancy is what matters and it is irrelevant whether they are private tenants or on housing benefits.

We request Landlord references and also a guarantor, in the event their benefit entitlement changes or they are temporarily unemployed.

The article was a personal view and in my opinion misleading. The author of the article, Mrs Ashman actually viewed one of our property's last week and turned it down as it only had one reception room (her eldest son required a separate living room for him and his girlfriend) and she also advised me that she was not entitled to any housing benefit.

I would also add that in our experience over the years we have not come across any 'buy to let' mortgages that have terms preventing housing benefit tenants and believe this to be inaccurate and misleading information.

Caroline Wells