Ross Le Brun has welcomed the intention of the States to build more homes itself over the next few years for the first time in some 30 years.
But he questioned what he saw as a lack of action in the starter home market.
‘As someone who once lived in social housing, what I wanted wasn’t help saving for an expensive house. I wanted the security of a home of my own that I could actually afford to buy,’ he said.
‘The focus seems to be on helping people save more to buy what the private market wants to build – but that still leaves people chasing houses that are out of reach.’
Deputy Le Brun said he had wanted to see ‘something bolder’ – a States-led starter home scheme using public land to create genuinely affordable homes for average working islanders. He said that he had proposed something similar to the Housing Committee and had been told it was planning something similar – leaving him disappointed.
‘If we don’t create a proper first rung on the housing ladder, we’ll continue to leave a large group of people stuck in the middle. They don’t want to be dependent on social housing, but can’t afford to buy what’s being built either,’ he said.
‘For me, that’s still the biggest gap in Guernsey’s housing market.’
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