Over 1,500 children on social housing waiting list

Thursday 04 April 2019

1,551 children are currently on the waiting list for social housing, with 125 of those in families described as facing homelessness, eviction or serious illness.

The figures were released following a Freedom of Information request and found that of the 125 in the high-priority 'Band 1' category, 51 were aged just 0 to four.

Another 308 children are in the second highest priority band, which applies to families with, “...overcrowded conditions, poor housing standards or moderate medical issues."

Pictured: The majority of children on the social housing waiting list are aged five to nine.

Between the two highest priority categories, there are a total of 170 children under the age of four.

The figures show that a total 970 families with children are currently awaiting social housing, with a majority of those having young children between the age of five and nine.

There is also a high number, 546, of children under the age of four on the waiting list.

Pictured: There are a total of 1,551 children currently on the waiting list for social housing.

Most of the children concerned belong to families located in 'band 5' on the affordable housing gateway, which corresponds to cases where people wish to purchase a property but require financial assistance.

As of 11 January, the total applications on what is known as the ‘Affordable Housing Gateway’ was 2081, made up of “838 applications for social rented accommodation and 1243 applications for assistance to purchase a home”.

Pictured: Applications for social housing as of January 2019, sorted out in priority bands (States of Jersey/Housing Minister).

It was revealed that applicants on the ‘highest priority’ band were having to wait around seven months or more without being housed, while the applications from those in 'Band 2' had been pending for an average of ten months.

The figures come at a difficult time for the island in terms of housing. An in-depth analysis of the island’s current housing and migration trends by Statistics Jersey recently revealed that nearly 3,000 homes will need to be built in Jersey by 2021.

Their report concluded that, over the three-year period between 2019 and 2021, Jersey will fall short of having enough homes by as much as 2,750. In line with current demand, three-bedroom family homes are expected to be the most difficult to find, with a shortfall of over 1,000.