COUNCIL chiefs say they want to tackle West Devon’s mounting housing crisis with the help of the public as they warn homelessness numbers could rise in the borough over the next five years.

West Devon Borough Council’s hub committee are looking at appointing permanent staff to help sort out a crisis which is being fuelled by a severe shortage of rented accommodation.

A report to the committee by senior housing specialist Sophie Cobbledick blames the Covid-19 pandemic and a move by landlords to turn rented property into holiday lets for helping to worsen the situation, with 33 per cent of ‘one-bed households’ who have been made homeless being forced to live outside the borough.

Councillors have already been told that officers have evidence that residents are being evicted from rented properties to make way for tourists.

Now hub committee members, who met on Tuesday, want to consult the public on the depth of the problem as they draw up a new strategy to tackle it, with a report being made to full council in May.

Councillors have been told West Devon is working alongside neighbouring South Hams District Council, who recently declared a housing crisis, to try to alleviate the situation.

Ms Cobbledick’s report said: ‘Much of our industry is centred on tourism and we have high proportions of holiday and second home accommodations in many of our towns and villages.

‘While this has always been the case, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought with it increased interest in the area for staycation holidays, second home ownership and permanent relocation from cities; with the new opportunities presented by home working.

‘The result has been a sharp increase in house prices and in properties being used as holiday rentals rather than as long-term rented housing.’

She said latest data revealed that in the 12 months leading up to December 2021, the South West experienced the highest rental increases along with West Midlands of 3.1 per cent, while other figures revealed that tenant demand was accelerating while fewer landlords were coming forward to offer property to rent.

.Ms Cobbledick said the fall in supply of lettings was most widespread in the Midlands, the East of England and the South West, while the increase in rental prices and property prices has priced many low income families out of both the home ownership and the private rented market.

She said: ‘The pandemic also had significant financial impacts including decreased income under the furlough scheme and changes to benefits that has impacted on people’s ability to manage their finances.

‘This has sharply emphasised the challenges for many people across our area and may lead to further increases in homelessness in our area.’

She said in October last year in West Devon there were 538 second homes and 33 properties that have been empty for over two years. A further 27 were recorded as uninhabitable. Her report said that, according to figures from the Land Registry, the average house price in West Devon is £306,203, a 22 per cent increase since September 2016, when the average house price was £239,160. Meanwhile, the average salary in West Devon is £22,048, an increase of 11 per cent since 2016.