A COUNCIL chief says West Devon is considering taking action over a growing housing crisis in the area after new figures suggest available rented accommodation is plunging through the floor.

Devon councillors admit they are terrified that the amount of rented accomodation has plummeted by nearly three-quarters on pre-pandemic levels and fear it could drive down the county’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 outbreak.

South Hams District Council, neighbour to West Devon, has declared a housing crisis partly because of the lack of rented property and are calling on the Government to take action. West Devon has been named as one of the areas in the county where the loss of rented housing was most prevalent.

County council leader John Hart voiced fears that the situation could lead to a lack of critical key workers such as nurses and teachers.

And Cllr Neil Jory, Leader of West Devon Borough Council said: ‘We are carefully considering what actions we need to take as we fully recognise the difficulties that presently exist in the market. We know we need imaginative ways to bring forward well-designed, eco-friendly, and more affordable housing for our communities. We’re working with housing associations, developers, other councils, the Government and other agencies to address the issue.’

He said the situation had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, where people found they could work from home without travelling to an office and can move to areas like West Devon to live, while working remotely for companies elsewhere.

He said: ‘I have heard anecdotal evidence that people are getting jobs in places like Manchester or London and go to the office maybe once a week, but still living here. I think it is a crisis, but that’s something we are working to try and solve.’

An open meeting of the Team Devon local outbreak engagement board has heard that around 70 per cent of private rental properties have left the market in the two years up to July 2021. The figures exclude Torbay and Plymouth, which are outside the Devon County Council administrative area.

Keri Denton, the county council’s head of economy, enterprise and skills, told members reductions are more prevalent in parts of the county such as West Devon, North Devon and Torridge, where there are higher levels of second-home ownership.

She said: ‘A number of private rentals are turning up as Airbnbs and that’s obviously a decision for the homeowner, but it is placing pressure on our ability to attracting a workforce and offering housing to support those key sectors that we’re short in to support our economic recovery.’

After the meeting, Cllr Hart said in a statement: ‘Having a buoyant private rental market is important to the Devon economy as it provides much needed accommodation for workers, so to hear that the private rental market has shrunk by around 70 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels, is quite terrifying.

‘And if teachers, nurses and young professionals were turning down opportunities to work here because there’s no accommodation to rent, that’s got to change.

‘We know that with the current popularity of the staycation, a lot of private landlords have shifted their properties to become short-term holiday rentals. Whether that shift is long term, or opportunistic for as long as holidaying at home is popular, is yet to be seen.

‘Granted, tourism to the county brings in a lot of income to our retail, leisure and hospitality sectors, but we need to find the right balance, one that makes sure that good housing is available for rent by workers and their families in the county, while also providing attractive holiday accommodation to keep tourists coming back.’

The Office for National Statistics has announced the average cost of rent in the south west increased by 2.6 per cent in the year to August, more than double the 1.2 per cent increase for the whole of the UK, while the fall in supply was most widespread in the south west, east and west Midlands.