‘Draconian laws’ will impact market, says Landlords Association

Jeff Guilbert said that as chairman, he and members of the Guernsey Private Residential Landlords Association were blindsided by last week’s States debate on the proposals, only learning about it once it was under way.

He said he had asked the Environment & Infrastructure Committee for a copy of the legislation on 28 January but never received a response. He learned on Thursday morning that the debate had started.

‘We’re disappointed we didn’t get the chance to comment, we felt ambushed, it just appeared,’ he said. ‘We do keep up with States meetings but we are all busy people. We have not had time to consider the full impact of it all,’ he said.

Mr Guilbert described some of the proposals as ‘draconian laws bordering on Orwellian proportions’.

He warned that between four and six landlords a month were withdrawing from the local rental market, many of them ‘baby-boomers’ who were looking to cash in on their pensions and ‘ride off into the sunset’.

He said the number of those departing the market was likely to increase.

‘We are very concerned that there are many smaller landlords who are already selling their rental properties.

‘The legislation will result in a reduced sector when there is already so much demand.’

Mr Guilbert ended up emailing all deputies on Thursday morning while they were in the chamber. He supported Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller’s proposal to delay the debate to allow more time to consider the draft law.

He said that he was particularly concerned about the proposed right of authorised officers to take improvement action on a property without agreement from the person who had been served with an operative improvement notice, provided certain conditions had been met, and the ability for authorised officers to apply for a warrant from the Magistrate’s Court authorising them to enter premises by force to take emergency remedial action.