WE all need a place which we can call home but the shortage of property to rent in coastal areas, such as the Looe West, Pelynt, Lansallos and Lanteglos division I represent, has been exacerbated by the increase of holiday cottages, or Airbnb.

Whilst I recognise that some of these properties are unsuitable for permanent occupation, as they are tiny, often damp in winter and lack affordable heating systems, they used to provide a stepping stone for local people.

I was talking to a Cornwall housing officer who had worked in Truro, who told me that there used to be several letting agents in the city who had flats above offices and shops, and houses which investors had purchased. He could ring these agents to find a home for a person or family in need.

However, these have dwindled in number, due to value of property for sale, the cost of maintenance, and restrictions in landlords rights under the Renters Rights Act, which increases rights for tenants.

Section 21 notices, which gave landlords the right to evict tenants without proving that they were at fault, are no longer legal. Instead, grounds for eviction are limited to anti-social behaviour, not looking after the property, or rent arrears. If landlords have to go to court, as the tenant disputes the eviction, this could take over a year, even if the landlord needs to sell the property or wants it for a family member.

This has resulted in many landlords serving Section 21 eviction notices on tenants so they can sell the property and invest the money elsewhere before the legislation came into law on May 1.

As a result in this change in legislation, Cornwall Council is seeing a small increase in the number of people facing homelessness. We already have 25,300 people looking for new homes to rent from Cornwall Council, but with a low rate of vacancies in both the 10,400 council houses and about 10,000 properties controlled by Rural Housing partners, there are not enough properties to house everyone.

We recently had reports of a homeless person who had lost his temporary rough sleeping site due to vandalism. Luckily the team on Cornwall Council were able to support him into a private let, with help from local volunteers with internet access, etc, but it was a long process, during which the landlord was incurring costs with no income. However, I think these recent changes by Labour will make it harder to find private sector lets.

We are now looking at all property which Cornwall Council owns, to see if any is suitable for housing, not just for affordable homes but market rented homes made available to local people in the parish. A few sales will be prioritised for local people, as a primary residence, with no holiday lets or second homes. The model is based on what our own company Treveth has proved works – and demonstrates our Liberal Democrat values to provide a fair, free inclusive society.