Fears as rent rises and 'not a shoebox' to live in

Residents of the building on Compston Road said the rise was unaffordable

A tenant living in a tourist hotspot said he was left in shock when his landlord told him his rent would rise by 40%.

Tim Greaves lives in a one bedroom flat on Compston Road in Ambleside, Cumbria, and this week he received an email from lettings agent Matthews Benjamin notifying him of a £225 monthly rise.

He claimed others living in the flat-block had also been hit with rises and were concerned about their options, saying: "There's nowhere to move, not a shoebox - nothing."

Matthews Benjamin said it had invited tenants to contact them with any concerns and that it would discuss its findings with the landlords before any further steps were taken.

Mr Greaves said the people living in the flats were "really worried and really scared".

He said most worked "fairly minimum wage-type jobs" in hospitality and retail and if they had to leave it would be hard to replace them.

"The wages don't pay round here to be paying £795 [for rent]," he said.

"We can't get staff round here because there is nowhere to live."

Impact on jobs

Tim Farron, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said hospitality businesses were running below capacity, at about 66%, because they struggled to recruit.

The Lib Dem MP said the rent hike was " basically cruel" and he was working with residents to see what support he could offer.

"It's likely to have an enormous impact on the ability for those people to remain in the area and remain part of our workforce," he said.

The lettings agent said it had recently taken over the management of the flats and was approached by the owners, building firm Cook and Lakin, to assess rent values and align them more closely with current market rates.

It added while it was important rates reflected the market, its intention was not to displace tenants, but to manage the change responsibly.

Cook and Lakin was approached for comment.