Landlords told ‘get a grip’ as one in four rented homes unfit to live in

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [View online]( December 16, 2022 [Morning Headlines]( 1 / [Landlords told to ‘get a grip’ as almost a quarter of private rented homes do not meet standards]( Ministers are facing demands for urgent action to ensure the nation has homes fit to live in, after shock figures showed that almost a quarter of private rented properties – almost 1 million houses and flats – failed to meet basic standards of decency. The English Housing Survey found that 14 per cent of homes – a total of 3.4 million – fell short of standards on cold, damp, disrepair, noise or lack of basic amenities. These included 2 million owner-occupied homes (13 per cent) and 380,000 social rentals (10 per cent). It came as a Rochdale housing association announced its chair and board members will quit following a scathing report on their “unacceptable” response to the death of a two-year-old boy from respiratory problems caused by mould in the flat where he lived.   2 / [Teenager among four dead in English Channel tragedy as more missing]( Officials say another four people are still unaccounted for 3 / [Labour win Stretford and Urmston by-election with emphatic majority: ‘Tories have given up’]( Andrew Western held the seat for Labour with a majority of 9,906 votes 4 / [Child deaths from Strep A in UK rises to 19 as outbreak spreads]( More deaths are likely, say health officials as scarlet fever cases yet to peak 5 / [Four people fighting for life after crowd ‘crush’ outside Asake gig]( Met Police gold commander Ade Adelekan described the incident as ‘extremely distressing’     The Big Question When will Meghan and Harry tell people what they really want to know? Meghan [suffering a miscarriage](because of the Mail on Sunday’s reporting. Doria talking about her daughter having suicidal thoughts. William “shouting and screaming” at his brother, and in front of the Queen as well. [And the claims kept coming,]( a tsunami of princely grievances publicly thrown at the Palace with the sort of acrid bitterness rarely glimpsed from the House of Windsor, writes Sean O'Grady. Whatever [Netflix]( paid for their story, the Sussexes were good value. I wonder what the couple will do for an encore? I have to admit that I was expecting – or fearing – a “race bomb” as a follow up to the many incendiary “truth bombs” they’d detonated during the six hours of the documentary series. They stunned the world in their Oprah interview when they revealed that one member of the royal family had raised inappropriate questions about baby Archie’s skin colour –there were “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born and how ‘dark’ he would be”, Meghan said. [For the full story click here >](   Enjoying this newsletter? Unlock unlimited, ad-free reading on the website and in The Independent app when you subscribe – plus, benefit from our [welcome offer when you join today](. Watch/ [On the Breadline: Sara Cox meets mothers forced to choose between heat and food](   NUMBER OF THE DAY 19 At least 19 [children]( have now died across the [UK]( from invasive [Strep A]( disease, new figures have revealed. [Read more here](   QUOTE OF THE DAY “I was sitting in my bathtub, ready to die. All I wanted was for the debt to disappear.” – For Flora, a single mother of two sons living in Scotland, the cost of living crisis has led her to the very edge of despair. It was a phone call to the Bridge Community Project that saved her life. [Read more here](     Other stories you might like   [Four boys who died after falling into Solihull frozen lake named](   [Elon Musk defends Twitter suspension of mainstream journalists who write about him: ‘Same rules apply’](   [Meghan Markle defends her extravagant New York City baby shower: ‘It’s not taxpayer money’](       Articles available exclusively to subscribers John Rentoul, The Independent -Why some Tory MPs will never be satisfied with Rishi Sunak](   Other newsletters you might like [The Race Report] The Race Report Fortnightly, 7am (UK time) Written by Nadine White [Sign up]( [Inside Politics] Inside Politics Weekdays, 8am (UK time) Written by Matt Mathers [Sign up](   If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 14-18 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AH. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.