The creation of a public register listing approved homes for rent in Oxford makes sense.

The list of prosecutions by the city council this year shows that some landlords are falling down badly on their obligations.

In the past, some rented properties have clearly not been fit to live in.

Faulty smoke alarms, unchecked gas appliances, defective windows and no ventilation are just some of the problems tenants have faced.

With its chronic housing shortage, Oxford has become a paradise for dodgy landlords.

They take deposits and rent from tenants, put them in substandard homes, then walk away.

It is unfair that any family, however desperate they are for a roof over their heads, should be treated in this way.

Now the city council has called time on these unscrupulous types.

In future, people looking for homes will have the benefit of a guide to renting safe properties and the safeguards landlords have put in place.

Those landlords who don't play the game will deserve to be driven out of business.