Sale-and-rent-back schemes target homeowners who may be vulnerable to repossession, offer to buy their homes off them at bargain-basement prices and keep them in there as tenants... a prospect that can be attractive to stressed families facing homelessness. Problems, however, have included a shortage of guarantees about the length of tenancy... some tenants have found themselves kicked to the curb after the property has been sold on to a third party investor. New FSA rules, coming into effect at the end of the June, include:

• a ban on "emotive" advertising
• a 14-day cooling off period
• a ban on cold-calling
• a minimum tenure of five years

Who'd argue with any of that?

UPDATE - APOLOGIES IF YOU'RE GETTING AN IRONIC GOOGLE AD ABOVE... I'LL LOOK INTO FILTERING

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