Rent rises in line with inflation considered

Deputy David Warr Picture: ROB CURRIE. (35466748)

MEASURES to ensure landlords only raise rents in line with inflation are being considered as part of a new document outlining potential legislative changes within Jersey’s rental sector.

Housing Minister David Warr said that a government white paper was due to be published in the next few weeks.

This, he explained, would set out potential changes for the rental sector that could help form an updated and ‘fit-for-purpose’ residential tenancy law for private and social housing.

‘The kind of things being considered are things like rent stabilisation and only increasing rents in line with inflation,’ Deputy Warr said.

‘It has been very apparent that we have extremely fragmented legislation when it comes to housing,’ he added, citing the Dwelling-Houses (Rent Control) (Jersey) Law 1946 as an example of outdated legislation ‘muddying the water’.

‘The aim is to create a single, overarching residential tenancy law from which we can hang things off, hopefully before the end of 2023. The challenge is to provide greater protections for landlords and tenants while creating a fit-for-purpose law that will hold up in the 21st century.’

Earlier this year Deputy Warr had to pause plans to revive the Rent Control Tribunal, which allows tenants to appeal against rent rises and has been dormant since 2009.

The move followed scrutiny over which laws would govern the Tribunal and controversy surrounding its independence, after it emerged that the chair of the Jersey Landlords Association, Guy Morris, was among the initial panel members proposed by Deputy Warr. He added that the new residential tenancy law would encompass and include the proposal for establishing the Rent Control Tribunal.

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