Buy-to-let landlords are snapping up homes on new estates where local people have been promised a chance to get on the housing ladder.

Semi-detached new-builds in Kent are being offered for rent for as much as £2,100 a month - sparking claims "families are being driven out" by the sky-high rates.

Spencer Fortag from Dockside Property Services taking about the issue

One town councillor has branded the situation "disgraceful" and called for more social housing to be built to tackle the crisis.

Faversham Lib Dem Hannah Perkin spoke out after a three/four-bed semi - on the town's Perry Court development - came onto the rental market this month for a staggering £1,800 a month.

But the agent advertising the property in Jupiter Grove says the price is set by demand and there is already interest from prospective tenants.

The house - which is one of many in the street yet to be occupied - has been bought by a buy-to-let investor seeking a long-term renter.

The monthly rate asked for has sparked concerns about affordability for most tenants, who have no option but to pay the high prices being demanded because there is so little rented property available.

Cllr Perkin wrote on Twitter: "How is this sustainable? Families are being driven out of Faversham. It's disgraceful.

"When I moved here 12 years ago, our three-bed was £625 per month. It's just so depressing to watch prices rise when there is nothing you can do about it."

Andrew Morris replied: "Prices in Faversham are getting absolutely ridiculous. Forcing more and more people out of the area."

Another three-bed new-build on the nearby Faversham Lakes development was also snapped up by a buy-to-let investor and promptly rented out about two months ago for £1,300 a month.

Elsewhere in Kent, a three-bed detached house at a new estate on the former Herne Bay golf club site is available for £1,600 a month.

Two brand-new four-bed family homes on a Persimmon Homes estate in Kingsnorth, Ashford, have been put up for rent at £1,790 and £1,700 a month.

And a four-bed semi-detached house on a new Redrow development in Balston Road, Maidstone, is available for £2,100 a month.

Residents we spoke to on the Perry Court estate were surprised by the high cost being asked for to rent the neighbouring semi-detached property.

"It seems a lot of money for a semi," said mum Louise Webb. "We thought that all the properties this side were going to be owner-occupied."

"The high price being asked for might be because the owner has got a big mortgage," said another.

"But if they find someone to pay it, then I guess that's the market rate."

Developer David Wilson Homes has sold all but two properties at Perry Court, with just a pair of four-bed homes remaining for sale for £585,000.

Swale Borough Council has 1,300 people on its housing waiting list and is inundated by those in housing need.

The scarcity of homes for rent is illustrated on RightMove, which this week had only one private family home for rent in Faversham - the one in Jupiter Grove.

Even one-bedroom flats are being advertised for £850 and £900 a month.

But other new housing developments are in the pipeline, promising "affordable" housing.

Housing association Golding Homes is managing the social housing element of the Perry Court development on either an affordable rent basis - which is about 80% of the market rate - or through a shared ownership agreement.

It says all its properties have now been allocated.

Cllr Perkin, who is also a trustee of the town's food bank, says she has never known the housing crisis to be so severe.

"Faversham may be facing a boom in housing development but we don't need four- and five-bed homes on our farmland," she told KentOnline.

"I have people crying down the phone to me because they are having to move out of the town where they were born and have grown up..."

"You can't really stop people buying new homes and renting them out. The only answer to this crisis is to build more social housing, not create profits for developers.

"I have people crying down the phone to me because they are having to move out of the town where they were born and have grown up.

"And these are working people in good jobs."

Mark Greenwood, of William Property Management Ltd, which is marketing the property in Jupiter Grove, says the demand is led by Faversham being "a lovely market town and a desirable place to live".

He admits that rents are at an all-time high, but adds: "The rental sector is heavily influenced by the sale value of property. When sale values increase, so do rental prices.

"We can’t influence those prices, they are set by the demand for property.

"The vast majority of houses that we let in Faversham are to local people.

"This particular house is a substantial four-bedroom new build. We have just advertised it and have already had a number of enquiries from people wanting to arrange a viewing.

"We completely understand how difficult it is for people to find their ideal home and we work very hard with all our potential tenants to help them achieve this."

A spokeswoman for David Wilson Homes says there is no restriction preventing purchases from buy-to-let investors, but adds the developer is "committed to delivering high quality new homes in developments which meet local demand for housing".

She added: "Perry Court will deliver 310 dwellings, 40% of which will be affordable and made available for affordable rent or shared ownership through our housing association partner, Golding Homes.

"In addition, many of the homes at Perry Court were available with the Help to Buy scheme which helps people buy a home with as little as a 5% deposit."

Analysis by KentOnline last month revealed that in half of the county's towns, there were no houses available to rent for less than £1,000 per month.

Some residents told us they are opting to move as far as Wales to find somewhere more affordable.