A recent Shelter report has found that 85% of housing in the south west has been deemed unaffordable based on the average rent for a two-bedroom house compared to the average local wage.
The report stated that: “Unaffordable private rents are most common in urban areas but not exclusive to them, with a number of rural authorities, such as Cornwall…being very unaffordable.”
In Cornwall alone, almost half of housing is classed as “very unaffordable” relative to average income.
This situation in the Duchy is symptomatic of the south west as a whole – only five of the 34 local authorities analysed in the region had affordable rents that took up less than 35% of local median full-time pay.
Commenting on the report’s findings, Lib Dem MP for mid-Cornwall and chair of the Housing APPG, Stephen Gilbert, said: “It is disappointing and of deep concern that Cornwall continues to be one of the most unaffordable places to live, even when compared with high-wage urban areas.
“This report starkly displays the harsh realities faced by young people in the area. As a nation, we are building the fewest houses in our post-war history and rents are rising far faster than wages – the situation is simply unsustainable.”
