As well as council polls, a by-election will also be held for the Westminster seat of South Shields, vacated by Labour's David Miliband while elections will also be held for mayors in Doncaster and North Tyneside.

BBC: David Cameron campaigning last month

South Shields letting agent Ajay Jagota deals with about 700 landlords like David Cook in the North East, and he says many are worried about the lack of information coming from the government.

BBC: Eviction fears over universal credit housing changes