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Whilst renting horror stories today usually consist of mouldy bathrooms and undersized bedrooms, the Rent Control Tribunal in the late 1900s was forced to visit a cottage in which "an umbrella was needed to use the toilet" and had to decide whether £6.40 weekly rent was too expensive for "one damp room"...
As the Housing Minister announced plans to lodge a new residential tenancy law later this year, Express took a look back at previous iterations of rent control in the island.
Deputy Sam Mézec last week issued an update to the States Assembly about his proposed legislation, which he hopes will be in force by next year.
It will include protections against unfair evictions and unjustifiable rent increases, according to the Housing Minister.
Pictured: The new law will include protections against unfair evictions and unjustifiable rent increases.
Four priority areas will be covered in the proposed law:
Enhanced security of tenure for tenants. A new type of tenancy will provide for enhanced notice provisions and protection against no-fault evictions. Deputy Mézec hopes to answer concerns from landlords, he said, by including the means for landlords to take swifter action against tenants in serious breach of their tenancy agreement, and to issue notice and reclaim properties when appropriate.
Rent stabilisation measures, with rent increases limited to once per year and minimum notice periods for rent reviews being implemented. Housing officials are working with their counterparts in the Economy Department to prepare an index that would define an acceptable upper limit for rent increases.
A new Housing Tribunal, proposed by Deputy Mézec as a backbencher and approved by the Assembly in May 2023, which would hear appeals from both landlords and tenants in order to provide a fair and accessible way to resolve disputes. Deputy Mézec said it was likely the tribunal would become operational at a later date to ensure the main legislation was not delayed.
The introduction of provisions to prevent “inappropriate fees and charges”, including offences and penalties for unlawful practices. Deputy Mézec said he would ensure that landlords and tenants would have the right of appeal and that there were appropriate penalties for non-compliance.
In his report, the Housing Minister stated: “The Residential Tenancy Law will provide the bedrock for a thriving rental sector, balancing the needs of landlords and tenants, whilst making long overdue progress in alleviating our housing crisis.
“I look forward to presenting this law later in the year and further engaging with islanders and stakeholders to seek their contribution in a meaningful way.”
The law allowing for a panel to be appointed to review whether rent increases are fair dates back to 1946.
In 1976, the Rent Control Tribunal slashed the rent on "one damp room in what was probably once a garden outhouse" from £6.40 a week to £2.50.
The property stood on the grounds of Pembroke Lodge and was the home of 74-year-old Mr J Colledge.
Pictured: Mr Colledge (74) outside his "one damp room" in 1976.
Following a visit to the property on Rue de Craslin, the Tribunal said: "To describe this accommodation as a chalet is an exaggeration.
"It consists of one damp room in what was probably once a garden outhouse.
"The only heating is a one-bar electric fire fixed to the wall, and it has a washhand basin which serves also as a sink, and shares an outside toilet with another so-called chalet.
"The property is described as being part-furnished, that part-furnishing consisting of one dressing table. For that accommodation, the tenant is at present paying £6.40 per week, inclusive of water and parochial rales."
Pictured: In 1981, the Rent Control Tribunal cut the quarterly rent of a cottage on Don Road from £165 to just £5.
In 1981, the JEP reported that the island's Rent Control Tribunal cut the quarterly rent of a cottage on Don Road from £165 to just £5, after the Chairman described the property as fit only for demolition.
Sir Robert Le Masurier explained that the tribunal considered the only part of the property in reasonable condition to be the pigeon loft in the yard.
He said that one of the two bedrooms was absolutely unusable, and "an umbrella was needed to use the toilet".
Sir Robert added that the tribunal's findings had already been made known to the Public Health Department, who had warned the owner that a closure order would be issued unless improvements were made to the cottage.
2009 marked the last year that a rent tribunal was appointed.
In 2022, Housing Minister Russell Labey made a commitment in his Fair Rents Plan to reintroduce the Rent Control Tribunal to give private sector residential tenants the opportunity to appeal to an independent body if they believe their rent is excessive.
However, this was not formed during Deputy Labey's term in office.
Pictured: In August 2022, David Warr came under fire after proposing a slate of landlords and finance professionals to make up the new tribunal.
His successor, Deputy David Warr came under fire after proposing a slate of landlords and finance professionals to make up the new tribunal.
States Members were originally due to vote on the membership of the panel in November 2022, but the debate instead ended with the tribunal plans being paused after it emerged that the board may only be able to hear appeals from those who have lived in the same place for more than nine years.
Deputy Mézec described this attempt as “an unmitigated mess”, with its reliance on the use of an out-of-date law making it “almost powerless to help tenants facing unjustifiable rent increases."
In April 2023, the Reform Jersey leader then proposed rent control measures aimed to outlaw "exploitative practices".
As part of this, he proposed that a “fit-for-purpose” Rent Tribunal should be established to “provide both tenants and landlords with an outlet to resolve any disputes which arise because of the intricacies of rent control being introduced”.
Pictured: In April 2023, Reform Jersey leader Deputy Sam Mézec proposed that a “fit-for-purpose” Rent Tribunal should be established.
Just days later, Housing Minister David Warr announced his own plans to gives tenants more protection, including the establishment of a new Housing Tribunal to consider a "wide range" of residential tenancy issues.
In May 2023, the States Assembly voted to approved Deputy Mézec's proposal to introduce a rent tribunal or housing commission to rule on disputes by 22 votes to 20.
However, he saw the other elements of his proposition defeated in a series of votes.
The formation of the tribunal has not been progressed since May 2023.
In Deputy Mezéc's recent proposals, he said that it was likely the tribunal would become operational at a later date to ensure the main legislation was not delayed.
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