If the Housing Committee proposal, which was lodged for debate today, is adopted by States Members, it would be the sixth time the qualification period has come down since 2001.
The committee predicts that the change would give an extra 150 to 200 households the right to rent or buy on the open market.
Of those, it is expected that ten per cent would apply for money under the rent rebate scheme, which helps tenants in the private sector pay their rents, at an annual cost of up to £80,000.
The report with the proposal adds: ‘The effect on the States rental waiting list is difficult to quantify.
On the basis of the experience of the last four years, only 11 new qualifiers out of 296 consents have become States tenants, although 31 registered on the waiting list.’ It adds that dropping quallies to 14 years could result in 15 to 20 new cases on the waiting list, with fewer than ten actually being housed.
If the proposition wins the support of the House, it will come into effect seven days later.
