The construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coast is a key part of the government’s growth programme. But some locals fear being forced out, accusing landlords of cashing in on a jobs boom by evicting tenants and raising rents to unaffordable levels.

The plant is due to open in 2031, and although a final investment decision has not yet been made, groundwork is already well under way.

The construction project will require a predicted workforce of 7,900, of which about two-thirds will be from outside the area.

About 2,400 workers will be based on site with 500 others living at the former Pontins holiday park at Pakefield, near Lowestoft.

The remaining contractors, however, will have to move into properties in or around the town of Leiston – population 5,508 – where some rents have doubled to more than £3,000 a month.

The government hopes to ban evictions without a reason as part of its new Renters’ Rights Bill, but this will not be in place until summer at the earliest.

Until then, John Stevens, who rents in Leiston, believes some landlords will look to move current tenants on in order to make use of East Suffolk Council’s Sizewell C housing grants scheme.

Aiming to provide an additional 1,200 beds, it offers property owners up to £7,000 if they agree to turn their spare rooms or spaces into suitable accommodation.

The council told the BBC it had so far “received significant interest” and expected to “see a significant uptake in awards” over the coming months.

Mr Stevens, 72, says: “[The landlords] are thinking, ‘Let’s evict these people and get the money, plus bigger rents’, so why wouldn’t landlords take advantage of it?”

“But it’s ridiculous and it’s changing the landscape because different people I know are going through murder because of Sizewell; they are being evicted.

“A friend of mine is [being evicted] and she is a single parent and has one kid – where is she going to go now?”

Rent hikes have proved particularly controversial in Leiston, traditionally seen as more affordable than the affluent coastal towns of Aldeburgh and Southwold.

The current average monthly rent in the town, once a thriving manufacturing centre, is £773, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

But last month, the BBC found one three-bedroom semi-detached property in Carr Avenue advertised at £3,000 a month, including bills and cleaning costs.

Another three-bedroom home was going for £3,100, including bills, while a two-bedroom apartment was being let for £3,045, including bills.

Since then, some rents have increased even further, with one three-bedroom house currently being advertised for the “attention of Sizewell workers” at £4,500 per month.

Daniela Delfino, 31, returned to Leiston in November 2023 to reconnect with her friends and stepfather.

She rents a one-bedroom flat that her landlord, with whom she has a “good relationship”, is looking to sell within the next few years.

“I really love living here and I don’t want to leave, because then I will just be running around like a headless chicken, looking for somewhere affordable,” she says.

“I did see a one-bedroom flat the other day but it was going for [nearly] three times as much as what I am paying now. The greed that is going around is not fair.

“No normal person can afford the current prices in Leiston or Saxmundham. It’s not feasible, even if you are working full-time – it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Tina Ashford, 53, rents a detached property in the nearby village of Sudbourne with her two children for £1,000 a month.

But she has been served a no-fault eviction notice, which her landlord says is unrelated to Sizewell C.

He says he simply plans to retire, and reduce his outgoings by selling the property.

Nevertheless, it has left Ms Ashford, a single mother who works in holiday lettings and cares for an elderly couple, looking for a new home and worried about what she can afford.

Ms Ashford says: “My whole life depends on me being here, but the greedy prices and extortionate rents are affecting the rest of the market.

“I feel very angry and I think what is happening in Leiston is criminal. Landlords are cashing in and the good days are way behind us.”

According to the ONS, 79.1% of people in East Suffolk aged between 16 and 64 are in paid work.

The average weekly wage in the district is £545, equivalent to a £26,705 salary.

But Toby Lindsay-White, who runs the Leiston Pantry food bank, is seeing a steady increase in members, and says locals no longer “have the money to live in the area”.

He says he knows of someone evicted from a four-bedroom bungalow that is being turned into an eight-bedroom home.

“It’s a bit of a double-edged sword because we have a number of people who have finally secured employment with Sizewell C, so they are now on good pay,” he says.

“But there has been a larger proportion of people who have had to move out of the area because their rent has increased or they’ve been served with a notice.”

Software engineer May Hall, 39, is also concerned.

She rents a two-bedroom property in Leiston for £850 a month and has recently been offered a six-month tenancy.

“I don’t know why they didn’t offer me a one-year contract, but I’m hoping if they had wanted to rent it to a contractor for double or more, they’d have done so,” she says.

“But I am still afraid that ‘the market’ will trend upward quickly and they will just follow it or change their mind.

“So yeah, it feels like Sizewell is the feudal lord of the land here with landlords as vassals and we’re at their total mercy. ‘Uncertainty’ is the word.”

However, the employment boom has helped save one struggling village pub.

Sarah Hartman, 66, runs The Butchers Arms in Knodishall, offering bed and breakfast, a 10-minute drive from Sizewell.

She estimates about 75% of guests are Sizewell workers, bringing in an extra £10,000 a month.

“It makes a lot of difference to us and keeps us open because, as just a pub, it is not sustainable. So if it wasn’t for Sizewell, we would not survive,” she says.

“It has done us a brilliant turn and come at just the right time, really. But I don’t want to be greedy, so I haven’t put the prices up. I just want to keep the place open.”

Tim Day, director of Suffolk Coastal Estate Agents and Sizewell Lettings, says much of the current demand is for “a service solution” – a short-term option including bills and cleaning, “not dissimilar to a holiday letting”.

Although quoted prices may state, for example, £3,000 a month, the tenant may not actually have to stay that long, says Mr Day, 55.

“There’s not much difference between offering a service solution to Sizewell workers and doing Airbnb.

“We’re in the accommodation business and we are responding to demand. But when one looks at that headline rate, it might not tell the true story.”

Mr Day believes the demand for accommodation will soon spread far beyond Leiston as workers begin to travel in on park-and-ride buses from Wickham Market or Darsham.

“So… the catchment area for accommodation for contractors is going to be absolutely vast, stretching from Lowestoft to Ipswich to Felixstowe.

“With time, the reach for properties is going to be huge, and that might well mean that Leiston becomes less relevant.”

Sizewell C, partly funded by EDF, says it will support up to 70,000 jobs and provide energy for about six million homes for 60 years.

Those behind the project, in which the government has an 85% stake, previously said they were working “closely with the housing team at East Suffolk Council” to ensure “no negative impacts” on the private housing sector and the local area.

They also suggested it was “unlikely” that many workers involved in the project would have to pay the higher rents.

David Beavan, independent cabinet member for housing at the council, says the authority is “proactively engaging with landlords to ensure rental prices remain as affordable as possible” and monitoring the number of people presenting as homeless locally.

“We have a dedicated team working to mitigate any negative housing impacts from the construction,” he adds.

The housing situation is “concerning”, says Suffolk Coastal’s Labour MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter.

She says Sizewell C and the council need to work together to ensure that people in Leiston, rather than just private landlords, benefit from the opportunities of the new plant.

“I am in touch with Sizewell C, East Suffolk Council and relevant ministers, and will continue to make this point clearly,” she says.

The BBC contacted four landlords advertising homes for rents of at least £3,000 per month in Leiston, but they either declined to comment or failed to respond.

A spokesperson for the National Residential Landlords Association says “fluctuations” in rental prices reflect the increasing costs of providing quality accommodation and the scarcity of available homes.

“Landlords’ costs have increased significantly, which has unfortunately meant that many landlords have been forced to increase rents to ensure their businesses remain viable,” they say.

“These financial pressures include hiked interest rates, significant tax increases, and the rising cost of maintenance which has forced many landlords out of the market.

“We continue to urge the government to introduce measures which will help stimulate growth across the UK’s rental market.

“A failure to do so will mean rents remain high and may continue to rise as the shortage of housing becomes more acute due to landlords exiting the market, reducing overall supply.”