04 January 2022
A series of targeted policies to improve the rental market in Jersey have been published by the Minister for Housing and Communities, Deputy Russell Labey.
The Fair Rents Plan includes moves which will:
- widen access to the Affordable Housing Gateway, reduce the current entry age for applicants without children, and ensure income limits better reflect the composition of the household
- reinstate the Rent Control Tribunal in 2022, giving private sector residential tenants the opportunity to appeal to an independent body if they believe their rent is excessive
- continue the ongoing detailed policy work to update the Residential Tenancies Law
The Fair Rents Plan also outlines how the Government of Jersey and Andium will manage the new social rents policy - recently agreed by the States Assembly - in which rents are capped at a maximum of 80 percent of the market rate.
Deputy Labey said: "Ensuring fair and better access to social housing in Jersey is among my key priorities as Minister. This Plan outlines just how we're reducing rents in the social sector, while also expanding the eligibility criteria for social housing.
"We've also put forward our plans to give private sector tenants better recourse against unfair rent increases, and set out a framework for strengthening the Residential Tenancies Law."
The publication of the Fair Rents Plan fulfils another of the commitments made in the Minister's Creating Better Homes Action Plan, published in June 2021.
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