Estate tenants protest after eviction notices are served
ONE of Cornwall’s grandest estates is selling off a number of properties that some local tenants have called home for decades, leaving them devastated.
The four properties, located within the 6,000 acre Port Eliot estate in St Germans, have been put on the market by the estate trustees’ management team at Savills.
All tenants were issued a Section 21 notice on March 24 – extended to three months instead of two. One resident told CornwallLive, the Western Morning News’ sister website, that, while people are not begrudging the estate’s decision, it was “totally unexpected” and could not have come at a worse time as a widespread housing crisis is impacting much of Cornwall.
Some of the affected residents have lived in the homes for as many as 20 years. At least one has stipulated that they believed they were “guaranteed” to be long-term rentals – having invested thousands into maintenance and renovation of the properties through the years.
However, Savills has confirmed that all those issued notice were on an assured shorthold tenancy – meaning it can issue notice at any point without giving a reason. One affected tenant said: “I’ve been a tenant at Port Eliot for many, many years, and I’ve lived in a couple of properties and our understanding at the time was that the trust wouldn’t be selling the properties on.
“As time has gone by, we got a Section 21 notice just pushed through our letterbox a couple of weeks ago to say they are selling our home. It was a no fault eviction and basically we had three months to find somewhere else to live and move out, so I’m quite aggrieved because we’ve ploughed a lot of money into the house. We spent an awful lot of time making it a nice place and the estate is going to benefit from it, basically.”
The tenant explained that she shared her story – believing it to be a single case – to a local Facebook page, at which point things “ballooned”. She had numerous other people telling her that they too were being evicted. “Myself and my nextdoor neighbour are being evicted,” she added.
The 6,000-acre estate extends into the neighbouring villages of Tideford, Trerulefoot and Polbathic. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Eliot family invested substantially in the estate by building farmhouses, fishermen’s cottages and other homes on their land. Many of these properties remain part of the estate to this day and are rented out to local residents and friends of the family.
‘We spent an awful lot of time making it a nice place and the estate is going to benefit from it’
Some properties have been sold over the years. The Duchy of Cornwall purchased the southern portion of the estate in 2014, as part of the most substantial purchase of farmland made in Cornwall since the Prince of Wales became Duke of Cornwall in 1952. The Duchy does not own any of the properties currently being sold.
Another affected tenant said they were being “turfed out” after 13 years and were “heartbroken” as a result.
Port Eliot is the ancestral seat of the Eliot family, whose present head is 17-year-old Albert Eliot, the 11th Earl of St Germans. His father, Jago, the eldest son of the 10th Earl, died in 2006, and the estate is being managed by trustees until he comes of age.
Savills has confirmed that four properties in total have been impacted by the notice period served on March 25, as instructed by the estate trustees.
A Savills spokesperson said: “The Port Eliot estate has decided to sell a small number of its properties occupied on assured shorthold tenancies. The family is working to try and find alternative accommodation on the estate. The proceeds from the sale of these properties will facilitate reinvestment into the remaining estate.”