Clampdown looms as ‘buy to let’ investors nab over 80 Waterfront apartments

Thursday 28 February 2019

More than half of the pre-sold apartments in a new luxury Waterfront development have been bought up by ‘buy to let’ investors, it has emerged, as the Chief Minister announced a bid to stamp out the practice.

Chief Minister Senator John Le Fondré said that the majority of Ministers were in favour of clamping down on those who live abroad but buy properties to rent out in Jersey as he was challenged on the subject by Deputy Russell Labey.

During this week’s States Assembly meeting, the St. Helier Deputy spoke of people from “Moscow, Macau, Singapore or St. Brelade being able to gobble up our housing supply as a way of enhancing their property investment portfolios”.

He said that he was “confused” by the “noises of the Senatorial benches”, who he said gave the impression they would like to stop the practice of ‘buy to let’ during the elections.

Pictured: The Chief Minister said there was an appetite among Ministers to stop the practice of 'buy to let'.

But the Chief Minister said that, despite no legislation having come forward just yet, the majority of Ministers were “absolutely in favour” of clamping down. 

However, he said that he wasn’t sure how long it would take to start making law changes but reaffirmed “certainly there is a will to do it”.

The news comes just as it was revealed that 82 units of the Jersey Development Company’s new luxury Waterfront apartment complex, Horizon, had been sold to ‘buy to let’ investors – more than half of the 145 sold so far.

The figures were revealed in a response to a question to the Treasury Minister from Deputy Rob Ward, and also showed that four of those units were sold to individuals not living in the island.

Pictured: 82 of the apartments have been pre-sold to 'buy to let' investors.

A further 11 purchases were apparently made using company structures, with each company owner said to be “locally qualified”.

‘Buy to let’ investors have previously been blamed for driving up prices in Jersey’s rental market, hitting some of the island’s lowest earners. 

It means the revelation may make for difficult reading for the island’s rent campaigners, who recently successfully gained 5,000 signatures on a petition regarding capping rental prices – enough to force a States debate.