The recommendations have been made by the Environment, Housing and Technical Services Scrutiny Panel, who have today released their ‘Supply of Housing Review’, which assessed the supply and affordability of homes in Jersey. Key recommendations from the panel include the Environment and Housing Ministers bringing forward a list of additional sites for new homes by December to help the Island meet its target of supplying 1,000 affordable homes by 2020 and investigating ways of dissuading owners from allowing empty homes to remain disused – possibly through a new tax or annual charge on top of rates bills.
According to the 2011 census,3,103 of Jersey’s 41,595 homes in the Island were vacant and 54 per cent – 22,574 – were classed as owner-occupied, others were owned by housing trusts or rented.
The panel – chairman Constable Simon Crowcroft, vice chairman Deputy David Johnson, Deputy Judy Martin and Deputy Montfort Tadier – also recommended that funding for the Summerland and Ambulance housing sites should be identified, that the Environment Minister should look at relaxing planning guidelines to encourage
St Helier housing projects and that the Housing Minister should prioritise a law change to help keep affordable homes at an affordable price when they are resold.
In addition, the panel called for the reintroduction of a housing forum so that the relevant States bodies, developers and other interested parties can meet to discuss issues each year.
The report also revealed that the States Strategic Housing Unit – the body responsible for administering access to affordable housing and policy objectives – was served by only one and a half full-time employees, and that more resources may be needed to carry out the work recommended by the panel.
When asked about a potential empty property tax Mr Crowcroft said: ‘We are all aware of places that sit empty for long periods and there was discussion about how far we should go.
‘There are a significant number of units that are unoccupied and owners of empty properties could be encouraged to let them, but at the same time we are aware this is personal property.’
Mr Crowcroft added that the rates system was currently ‘benign’ when it came to properties that were not fit for occupation and that it could be used to levy extra charges on empty units.
Housing Minister Anne Pryke said she thought investigating new empty property charges was a reasonable idea.
‘I very much welcome the panel’s report,’ she said. ‘It is very thorough and within the next few weeks I will be looking at it in depth with my officers.
‘I would welcome anything that prevents homes being left empty long-term when we’ve got such a short supply of housing.’
Environment Minister Steve Luce said that he spent a lot of time discussing housing needs with Deputy Pryke, adding that they were due to receive an update on supply demands before the end of the year.
‘If our report says we are unlikely to get where we need to be then we may come back to the Assembly and identify new sites.’
A SAFE, secure and affordable home is a basic building block of a happy, healthy community. Poor quality accommodation and inequitable housing laws create division, isolation and social tension. Government has no greater responsibility than to assist in the provision of adequate, fit-for-purpose housing.
Has Jersey held this to be a key priority amid the many other calls on parliamentary and ministerial time?
It has certainly been a perennial topic of conversation for successive administrations, but in Jersey this is an extremely tough nut to crack and assertive, speedy action has not tended to be a characteristic of how this Island is managed. We might be good at plans and strategies – and there might be a library of consultant reports hidden away in Cyril Le Marquand House – but in many areas of public administration, progress can be painfully slow.
The limitations of an Island nine miles by five and responsible calls for the protection of our green and pleasant land are major stumbling blocks. As is the very high cost of building and the fact that we rely on restricting access to housing to control population, something that has made the occupancy of property a deeply controversial issue and made many landlords rich.
The Environment, Housing and Technical Services Panel and its chairman Constable Simon Crowcroft are right to bring forward new ideas for debate – and it is shocking that there were, according to the 2011 census, 3,103 empty properties in Jersey.
Some may have been bought by investors, some may be unsold by developers, some may be holiday homes, but with so many living in cramped and inadequate properties, the situation is unacceptable.
In the UK, the owners of properties left unoccupied for long periods can be penalised with increased council tax bills. There may be a mechanism for charging increased parish rates on empty homes, but such an assault on private property should not be taken lightly.
A realistic and pragmatic approach to releasing brownfield sites for development and a look at how new homes can be incorporated into St Helier through creative, modern design and town planning must come first.
The talking about Summerland police and the ambulance sites in Rouge Bouillion, to name but two, has gone on long enough.
