Looking for a home

Our research and filming is moving on apace. Over the last two weeks we have been filming and talking to a variety of people who will be cropping up both on the Gazette website and also in our final film. It’s opening up more ways of looking at the subject that have given us a few shocks along the way.

We’ve been talking to people at the sharp end of the housing market in the South Lakes area– who have fewer and fewer choices. It’s fair enough to assume that not everyone can buy their own house but it does seem reasonable to assume that people should be able to rent as an alternative, at a reasonable rent and somewhere that is fit to live in. Anecdotally it seems there is now a rising pressure on the pool of rented housing in South Lakes – I’m trying to hunt down tight statistics for this, as this is a really important issue and it doesn’t seem to be reported generally when people are talking about local housing. It is assumed, if people can’t afford to buy, at least they can find somewhere to rent but that doesn’t seem to be stacking up anymore. If this really is the case then the lack of affordable homes issue is rapidly set to become a housing crisis on a greater scale than anyone currently understands.

The basis law of supply and demand are working differently in this area and so it is not just the figures on affordability that matter here but also the availability of an alternative or lack of an alternative as it seems to be. The urgency is being overlooked particularly because there is an assumed safety net which we are starting to realise is actually no longer there!

There is an unlimited source of people wanting to buy local houses as second homes or people wishing to stay in holiday lets. So many landlords are selling houses that previously had been lived in by long term tenants. It’s more profitable to rent properties out as holiday lets than have a long term tenant and many previously permanently occupied homes from the rented market, as well as previously owner occupied, are being converted into self catering properties to let or as second homes.

In some of our local towns, even some of the housing stock, previously owned by the council, is now being used as holiday homes or as holiday lets. It makes my hair stand on end but I can understand how and why it’s happening.

It’s such a small individual step, it’s hard to see the knock on effect, but when you start to realise that the number of houses being built is a tiny proportion of the numbers being lost each year and that this small pool of rented houses is not being replenished then the implications start to fall in to place.

Another trend has been people investing in buy to let properties, which also seems fair enough and as an individual no one would imaging that they were having an effect on the local housing market by doing so – however some of the mortgages associated with buy to lets have restrictions on letting to people with children, pets, smokers or those on benefits. So as well as the number of available houses to rent being squeezed fast, if you have children or pets, smoke, have lost your job or you are unable to work for any reason it will become even harder to find any where to live at all. Just check out the lettings ads at the back of any local paper to see this is really happening.

There is a wide range of companies now who are regularly advertising in local papers for houses for holiday lettings so you can see the demand is still there. The agents have access to a large pool of potential visitors and with sophisticated marketing they can offer a good return to someone who sees housing as a way of investing – which is the main way people look at housing now. You only have to look at the collection of TV programmes – the “Location, Location”; “Place in the sun”; “House in the Country” pieces that sell the idyll and people are following on in their droves. And between us, we are selling not just the family silver but the roof over our heads.

We’ve got a small bucket, half full, of homes for local occupancy whether owner occupied or rented and its haemorrhaging out through a huge hole in the bottom. If the market is allowed to progress unfettered the natural conclusion is that there will be a tiny number of homes that can be lived in by people who earn less than the average wage. And where do the rest go? And who works in these lower paid jobs that we all rely upon? Are we facing a major crisis of homelessness or one of a dearth of local employees? I’d be very interested in any feed back – Am I getting this wrong – I hope so – Can anyone give me any more hopeful ways of looking at this scenario? The next phase of filming, starting in March, is looking at positive solutions!

Please contact me at to rose@holmegroundproductions.co.uk or write to Holmeground Productions c/o Westmorland Gazette and help move this issue forward. Articles in the Westmorland Gazette and items on the Gazette website will keep readers up to date with issues raised.