States rents may rise by 20 %

The plans – being drawn up by Housing Minister Andrew Green – also include breaking up the Housing department, scrapping the job of Housing Minister and putting homes into a separate States-owned organisation.

Deputy Green will take the plans to his ministerial colleagues next month and, if they are approved by the States in the autumn, they could take effect next year.

He says that putting all States housing into a separate organisation would let it borrow money instead of having to bid for funds in the capital programme, which will allow it to be more flexible and to provide its own maintenance funding.