Industry News


Spotlight on Devon highlights the unaffordability of rural housing


New research from campaign group Generation Rent has revealed that local rents are too high for many key workers living in the south west county of Devon. Average wages for teaching assistants,


taxi drivers, kitchen assistants, cleaners, and roofers living in the region were not enough to affordably cover the rent for a one-bedroom house in any of Devon’s eight district or city councils. Renting was unaffordable for care workers


living in five of the seven councils in Devon and for pharmacy assistants and sales assistants living in all but one council in the county. On average, care workers and ambulance


staff spent 33% of their income on an average one-bedroom house in Devon, meanwhile sales assistants spent 35%, pharmacy assistants 37%, cleaners and roofers 38%, kitchen assistants 39%, and taxi drivers 40%. Teaching assistants however experienced the


most affordability issues of the roles analysed in this research, with 47% of their wages going towards average rents in the county. In seven out of eight district and city councils in the county, teaching assistants spent at least 40% of their wages renting a one-bedroom house on average, with this rising to 58% for teaching assistants in Exeter. For communities to survive, local people


must be able to stay healthy, receive an education, find a safe home to live in and purchase basic goods. But, if those working in vital jobs cannot afford to live in the area, everyone loses out. Promisingly, a newly established Devon


Housing Commission has launched a Call for Evidence into local housing issues. Lord Richard Best, chair of the Devon


Housing Commission, said: “Te Commission is very grateful to Generation Rent for providing powerful evidence that people in Devon in a wide range of jobs face unaffordable housing costs. For many, rents absorb far more than the 30% that is commonly regarded as the maximum for affordability.” “Tis evidence demonstrates the scale of the


problem in the county created by the shortages that push house prices and rent levels out of reach for the next generation.” A spokeman for Generation Rent, who


campaign on behalf of private renters said the current cost of renting crisis is devastating Devon’s communities, and they will support the new county-wide Housing Commission to tackle this head on.


H


astings Council in East Sussex has been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy by an enormous increase in the costs


of providing temporary accommodation for homeless applicants. Te South East seaside town of Hastings has


more than 1,500 households waiting for a new home and more than 1,000 people living in temporary accommodation, costing the local council a predicted £5.6m in 2023/24, compared to £730,000 in 2019 – a rise of more than 700%! While the council’s overall budget was £23m


a decade ago, it has fallen to a little over £16.5m largely driven by a huge 90% cut in Government grants and other support, dropping from £15.9m to just £1.5m last year. Without the high cost of temporary


accommodation and housing, the council’s budget actually shows an underspend of £1 million. But because of the huge increases in housing costs, a spokesman admitted there are going to be difficult decisions that have to be made across the whole council as it continues to try to balance the budget. A recent peer review report by the Local


Government Association (LGA) warned that the increased spend on temporary housing was putting Hastings Council at risk of bankruptcy. Te finance peer review team said it was “very


concerned” over the council’s finances and that in 2021/22 it had incurred a “significant overspend” on homelessness of £174,000. As demand grew further, this has grown to a forecast overspend of £2.03m for 2022/23. Te council has accepted all of the LGA’s 13


12 | HMMOctober/November 2023 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


recommendations and promised to urgently reduce spending, review all its spending budgets and prioritise financial stability. It has approved plans to sell off four assets to raise up to £3m, potentially using the money to transform its housing and temporary accommodation services. Extra staff were recruited in July with the


purpose of reducing the number of people in temporary accommodation and it was seeing the first “tentative signs” of a reduction. However the council is still forecasting an overspend of £697,790 due to an increase in provider costs. Hastings is one of the poorest towns in the


South of England. Having transferred its housing stock to a LSVT HA many years ago it has been forced to use expensive nightly accommodation from the private sector. To address this, the council has approved plans


to spend £11m acquiring properties to house people experiencing homelessness, and is also building its own hotel, which will be leased to Premier Inn. Writing in the Hastings Observer, council leader


Paul Barnett said the town’s problems were part of a national housing crisis and that changes in the housing market meant more and more homeless residents were being placed outside the town. Mr Barnett accused the Government of


“dragging its feet” by refusing to increase the Local Housing Allowance and failing to introduce rent controls or end Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. “Tey have even removed housing targets from local authorities, so fewer than ever affordable homes are being built nationally,” he added.


Coastal council almost bankrupt due to ‘massive’ rise in homelessness costs


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