Falmouth housing need at an 'eye watering' level

That's the opinion of Cornwall and Falmouth Labour councillor Jayne Kirkham who says there is a massive problem with the shortage of housing in Cornwall with 69 properties to let compared with 10,000 AirBnbs in Cornwall recently.

She says it’s been caused by a perfect storm of second home ownership fuelled by the Covid stamp duty cut, people relocating to Cornwall now they can work from home and Airbnb/holiday or student letting being more lucrative for landlords than renting to local people.

"That has meant people selling up at vastly inflated prices and housing becoming even more unaffordable on local wages," she said.

"We also suffer from a huge deficit in emergency housing," she said. "When people become homeless, when they’re evicted from their private rented accommodation so the owner can Airbnb it, or sell it at the top of the market, where do they go? Before the summer many of them were housed in hotels at great expense.

She added: "Nurses and teachers get jobs in Cornwall but have to turn them down as they can’t afford anywhere to live. Hospitality and care workers can’t afford to live within commuting distance of where they work."

Cllr Kirkham says her own research has found that up to July 19 there were 18 homeless households placed in Falmouth with another 25 homeless households whose area of preference for rehousing is Falmouth.

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New private rental listings in the TR11 postcode on Rightmove are down 20% in July 2021 compared with July 2020. Only 36 were listed in the TR11 postcode this July. The average asking price for rent was up 36% for July 2021 compared to July 2020.

"We are so far from meeting our housing need in Falmouth that it is eye watering," she said. "We need more council/social rent housing in Falmouth, not only 'affordable' housing constructed by private developers. It needs to be a realistic alternative to private rental or even buying. It used to be 60 years ago. Council homes were well-built and desirable. People wanted to live in them."

Cherilyn Mackrory, the MP for Truro and Falmouth recently told Local Democracy Reporter Richard Whitehouse that she understands the housing crisis after seeing her friends choosing to camp for the summer after finding themselves priced out of the market.

The Conservative MP said that Cornwall Council was looking at a number of ways to help ease the current pressure including the provision of more temporary accommodation which was better suited to people than bed and breakfast.

And she said that the council was looking at what finance was available to build new council houses and whether planning rules could be altered to ensure that local parishes can have more input about what housing is needed in their areas.

She said she also hoped that the Government would listen to any ideas from Cornwall to help tackle the crisis and devolve powers and responsibilities to Cornwall.

She said that homeowners should have to apply for a change of use if using their properties as second homes or holiday homes.

And she said there needed to be a better system to keep track of where second homes are in Cornwall.

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Cllr Kirkham is calling for:

• Finally end the loophole that permits owners of second homes and holiday lets to avoid paying both Council tax and Business rates & remove all tax incentives encouraging second home ownership.

• Allow Cornwall Council to charge a levy for second homes and holiday lets and ringfence the money for the provision of social/council housing in Cornwall;

• Change the planning regulations to require a change of use application for properties to be used as second homes and holiday lets rather than residential use

• Introduce regulation of properties used for holiday lets which permits local authorities to set limits on percentage of properties available for let.

• Abolish the bedroom tax.

• Introduce safeguards for renters so they cannot be evicted at just 2 months notice for no reason.

• Enforce covenants on ex-council houses that prohibit the use of the property for anything other than the residential use of local people that they were designed and built for with public money. Stop selling council houses off.

• Change the definition of affordable, so that local people on their local wages can live in security in Cornwall.

• Prioritise the urgent provision of council housing in Falmouth/Cornwall.