Cornwall rental market: Family moves 'eight times in 10 months'

A family that struggled to find a house to rent in Cornwall said they had to move eight times in 10 months.

It comes as estate agents in the county warn of a "very busy" rental housing sector.

The industry said factors including tenants' protection from eviction under Covid rules and people staying in homes for longer had increased pressure on the market and left people "desperate".

The government said it was committed to provide support for renters.

Georgina Murray, 32, from St Agnes, said her family had hoped to rent temporarily after they sold their house at the end of 2019 and waited for a new-build home to be completed.

The pandemic delayed their new home, and she, her husband, two toddlers, dog and cat moved eight times between Mount Hawke, Newquay, St Just, St Buryan and St Agnes, she said.

She said they stayed in short-term rentals and with friends and family.

Ms Murray said: "We tried right across Cornwall. There was just nowhere available to rent."

The family are now in their new home.

In Crantock, Richard Thomas, 55, said his wife and four children were seeking rental accommodation but "every time we apply for anything, they say it's already gone".

He said: "I work in this area and my children go to school here. I'm feeling pretty anxious."

Angela and Henry Butcher, in their 70s, moved to Cornwall from South Africa in October 2020 to be closer to their daughter and her family.

Their current rental is a holiday let and they have to move out in April.

UK-born Mrs Butcher said: "We didn't think it would be as bad as this."

Katie Law, of Millerson Lettings, said the rental market was "very busy" and "people are desperate to secure a property because there is so little on the market".

She said: "In St Austell we had a property that went on [the market] recently and, within about six or seven hours, we had about 60 enquiries for it.

"I have quite a number of people on the telephone to me in tears out of sheer desperation trying to find somewhere to live."

She said she hoped things would change when lockdown was lifted, but the pandemic had also increased demand for people wanting to move to Cornwall.

John Stewart, from the National Residential Landlords Association, said tax changes could encourage more landlords to stay in the long-term rental market.

He said the short-term market was "more attractive and... the regulations are not as restrictive".

He said the government making the long-term market just as favourable would "prevent the drift of properties into the holiday market".

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it was "providing more support than ever before to help people on to the housing ladder and provide support for renters".

It added: "We've also provided unprecedented support for renters during the pandemic through the ban on enforcement of evictions, furlough and boosting the welfare system by billions."

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