Evicted woman faces homelessness as houses in village she was born in are ‘all now second homes or Airbnbs’

A woman being evicted from her rental home says she is now facing homelessness as most houses in her village are either “second homes or Airbnbs”. Pam Leach has been renting her home for over more than years in the village of Porlock, Somerset.

But the retired graphics designer is now being turfed out of her long-time home by her landlords. She says an increasing number of renters are being kicked out before “no fault evictions” are banned under new legislation, which is currently going through Parliament.

Bailiffs have told Ms Leach they will return on July 27 to forcibly remove her from the terraced house, where she lives with her three cats. Her landlords say they want to downsize and live in the house themselves.

Pam says she will not be able to stay in her village as it is full of Airbnb or second homes. Now she’s been priced out of living in the area she was born in and is threatened with homelessness.

“I just do not know what I am going to do. I feel awful,” said Pam. “I have been to Citizen’s Advice, but they did not have anybody who could help.

“I have been to Somerset Council’s offices to talk to the homelessness team and they have not come back with anything and were no help at all. I cannot find anywhere else to live.

“Everything locally is up to about £865,000 and has been bought up by people from out of Porlock mainly using them for weekends or once a month, not even living in them properly.”

Ms Leach said she had been living on her savings because her pension was so small and doing odd jobs gardening and landscaping and painting to get by. However her village of Doverhay, an area of Porlock, has in recent years become inundated by people buying second homes and setting up holiday lets - driving up prices beyond her means.

Pam added: “It seems a huge coincidence that they are doing this just before they bring in legislation to prevent no fault evictions’. I have not defaulted on a penny.”

Legislation banning landlords from ‘no fault evictions’ was tabled in Parliament in May as part of a wider reform to renting. Local parish council chairman Councillor Duncan McCanlis says that the issue of holiday lets and second homes is being reviewed, and has left local businesses struggling to hire staff.

He said: “It is a major issue in the village, I absolutely understand that. We are really well aware of it, but it is outside the parish council’s powers and we have other priorities, so we will be pursuing it through the Local Community Network.”

What are no fault evictions?

No-fault evictions, also known as Section 21 proceedings, allow landlords to evict tenants without giving any explicit reason. Some say that this has created uncertainty and instability for many tenants in the private rental sector.

The UK government announced plans to abolish Section 21 evictions earlier this year. It is anticipated that this reform will be implemented by way of the Renters (Reform) Bill.

The change in legislation signifies a huge milestone in tenants’ rights. But it has also led to fears that landlords may be discouraged from renting out their properties or lead to a more stringent process for tenant selection, potentially exacerbating the renting crisis.