Holt couple with £55,000 income threatened by homelessness

Couple Sara and Alan Caistor have rented their home in Holt for more than a decade, but earlier this year they were given notice by their landlord, who wanted to move into the property himself.

Now, the couple, who have two teenage children, have said they are “under threat of homelessness” after being unable to find somewhere to buy or rent, and their landlord applying for a court order.

Alan and Sara Caistor outside their rented Holt home (Image: Supplied)

“Our landlord applied for a court order around six weeks ago,” Mrs Caistor said.

“We’re yet to find somewhere to live and we’re now classed as under threat of imminent homelessness, and in the highest band of council priority.

“Every property we look at there are queues of other renters. It’s highly competitive.

“We’ve given up on trying to get a mortgage. With mortgage rates having gone up it’s simply not an option for us.”

Mrs Caistor works as a library manager at Norfolk County Council and Mr Caistor is a self-employed locksmith.

The Caistor’s are not alone in their struggle to find a place to call home in north Norfolk.

North Norfolk has the second highest proportion of second homes in England, with 7,169 across the region as of April 1 last year.

READ MORE: New plans to limit second and holiday homes in north Norfolk

The government said the ever-rising number of holiday lets and second homes is impacting the availability and affordability of homes - and new stricter rules on short-term holiday lets were announced earlier this year to help ease the housing crisis.

More than 40pc of all houses in some areas of north Norfolk are either holiday lets or second homes.

READ MORE: One in 10 North Norfolk properties are holiday homes

However, a report by North Nofolk District Council last year found that retirees, rather than holiday homes, were the main driver of rising house prices.

READ MORE: Retirees behind district's soaring housing prices, report finds