“Unfair” housing qualifications should be abolished, says Minister

Friday 12 July 2024

It "isn’t right or fair" that people who are working and contributing in the island are "relegated" to a "small part of the housing market" by the qualifications system, according to the Housing Minister.

Deputy Sam Mézec said there had been “relatively high-level” Government discussions about moving towards scrapping the current system, which severely limits where many people who have been in Jersey for less than ten years can live.

"It isn’t right or fair"

When asked about the current system of residential statuses at the latest Chamber of Commerce lunch event, the Housing Minister said: “The challenge here is absolutely one that we must get to grips with.

"As far as I’m concerned, if you are in Jersey, with the right to be here, working and contributing, then it isn’t right or fair, that we relegate those people to a small part of the housing market.”

Pictured: Deputy Mézec described the current housing legislation as "unfair" and "discriminatory". (Gary Grimshaw)

Under current housing legislation, islanders who have been in Jersey for less than ten years and are not considered essential employees can only live in “registered” accommodation. This consists mostly of guest-houses, lodging houses and spare rooms.

Registered islanders are three times more likely to live in overcrowded conditions than those with “entitled” status, according to recent figures.

From a "bygone era"

Deputy Mézec continued: “It’s unfair, and it’s discriminatory.

“It’s a policy that exists because of a bygone era where it was an attempt at having a population policy or an immigration policy in place that would try to put people off coming to the islands because the conditions would be so terrible if they didn’t have the appropriate qualifications.

“The fact is that it hasn’t had that impact, and it means that there are people who we live among and work with who don’t live in the kinds of housing that they deserve to.

“So it has been my manifesto position that people who are in Jersey, who have come here to work, ought to have equal access to the rental market.

“I would like to get to that position as soon as possible and there have been some relatively high-level discussions in government about what a journey towards that would look like.”

Housing crisis is an "existential threat"

The Housing Minister also highlighted the “serious” impact Jersey’s housing crisis was having on the economy.

"Jersey has a housing crisis which poses an existential threat to our future prosperity and social cohesion," he said.

"Through years of housing affordability becoming worse, increasing rates of poverty and complacent responses from successive governments, we as a whole society are feeling the consequences."

Addressing the island's business leaders, Deputy Mézec said that difficulties faced in local recruitment and staff retention can "be partly put down to the mismatch that many workers feel between their expectations on the standard of living they ought to be able to enjoy in Jersey, and the reality of what is possible when housing costs are so high".

At the end of his speech, the Housing Minister said he was focusing on three “pillars”: supporting more islanders into homeownership, improving the experience of renters, and addressing the “plight” of homelessness in Jersey.

Pictured top: Housing Minister Sam Mézec address the island's business leaders at the latest Chamber of Commerce lunch event. (Gary Grimshaw)