Setting up a competitor to the GHA ‘makes little sense’
A SUGGESTION that a competitor to the Guernsey Housing Association should be set up makes little sense to the existing association’s chief executive.
Steve Williams was responding to comments made in a discussion paper on housing published by the Guernsey Party, in which it looked at the issue of affordable housing and how more could be done to help islanders looking to buy a home.
One of the ideas was to create another housing association.
‘I can’t understand why they suggest competition in a small island,’ said Mr Williams.
‘That could be tricky because we could be competing for the same land and the same resources.
‘You will need two administrative bases and you would reduce the economies of scale.’
Among the other suggestions made by the party was for the GHA to make more use of modular construction techniques and for its partial ownership initiative to allow people to buy their homes outright.
Mr Williams said he did not agree with all of the ideas, but he was pleased that people were talking about housing.
‘It gets debate going, which is good. I think further comment on the ideas and direction and support from States committees will be beneficial for everybody.
‘I can see what they’re saying and it’s good to air these issues. Some things I agree with, some not so much.’
Currently, people who are in a GHA partial ownership arrangement cannot pay more than 80% of the price of owning that property.
The idea is that when they get to that point they move to the private sector and the GHA can re-sell the property.
‘We could offer buying as an alternative but I’m not sure it would be helping the problem, really,’ said Mr Williams.
The idea is extremely popular, and there is a waiting list of about four years at the moment, with 180 people wanting to take advantage of the scheme and some 250 households already benefiting from it.
Modular buildings are put forward as a means of creating homes more efficiently than at present, but he said that although the GHA has used some modular elements, such as kitchens, to use large elements such as the entire property structure would need banks to come on board and be willing to provide mortgages for them.
He said he had visited the Premier Inn being built at Admiral Park, but this is not being built with modular elements and he was told that the company would use such a technique only for a site of more than 300 units.
‘I’m certainly open to the idea, but I don’t think it’s the answer to everything.’
More help with mortgages is proposed by the Guernsey Party, including a starter homes initiative with properties being sold at 80% of market value, a 0% interest rate on mortgages for the first five years, mortgage guarantees and a mortgage deposit loan scheme for first-time buyers.
‘I think there are certainly areas in the market where people need a leg-up to get into their own accommodation,’ said Mr Williams.
‘If people are asking the States to help with guarantees on deposits and things like that, you encourage demand, but you don’t add to the supply.
‘You can’t just support deposits with guarantees and so on, you’ve got to supply more accommodation as well.’
