Plans for Andium to acquire 174 social rented homes, a homeless hostel and a commercial property owned by CTJ Housing Trust have been approved by Jersey’s competition watchdog – raising the market share of the island’s largest social housing provider to 88%.
The Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority approved the acquisition earlier this week.
The deal will also see Andium take over all of CTJ Housing Trust’s existing tenancy agreements and pay off around £18 million in existing property loans – allowing the smaller housing provider to shut down completely.
Christians Together in Jersey set up the CTJ Housing Trust in 1996 after becoming concerned about the lack of social rented housing in Jersey.
The non-profit-making organisation grew to own properties in five island locations.
Although the fact that Andium already controls a big portion of the market would “normally be a matter of concern”, the regulatory authority decided the acquisition won’t harm competition due to the heavily regulated nature of the social housing market.
It explained: “The nature and characteristics of the market for social rented accommodation are distinct from those observed in typical commercial, private and capital markets.
“For example, given the effective constraints on the broad terms and conditions of supply and the underlying nature of the ‘product’, the merged entity will not have the ability, and therefore the incentive, to exploit market power.”
The authority also noted that rent prices and tenant services are controlled by government policy, and tenants won’t be affected negatively by the change.
The regulator concluded that “continuity, surety and availability of supply is a key factor in this transaction”, adding that the acquisition will “provide for an orderly sale and transfer of important Jersey property, while supporting continuity of dwelling and the availability of social rented accommodation for many Jersey residents”.