Deputy Ross Le Brun asked the committee how the 250 to 300 affordable housing units expected to be completed or under construction by the end of the political term would be split between States rental housing, Guernsey Housing Association rental homes, GHA partial-ownership homes and any other tenure.
He said he was responding to public concern about who can live in ‘affordable’ homes, and particularly if ‘migrant workers’ were being housed on States or Housing Association estates.
The committee said it was not possible to provide a definitive number and it had deliberately not included such detail in its outline housing delivery plan.
Decisions on design, construction and tenure would depend on the location, topography and finances of each site, it said.
And neither would it confirm whether homes would be allocated towards locally qualified residents, key workers and essential workers.
It said that some developments might be approved on a ‘tenure-blind’ basis so units could be allocated to the most pressing need, but it did expect that the majority would go to locally-qualified residents.
The committee acknowledged that many locally-qualified residents had been on affordable housing waiting lists ‘for a considerable time’ and that ‘more must be done’ to cut the lists and meet demand.
The island’s current affordable housing stock totals 2,708 units. Of these, 1,650 (61%) are States social rental homes, 786 (29%) are GHA rental and specialised units, and 272 (10%) are GHA partial-ownership homes.
The committee said all tenants would need to meet ‘any reasonable definition’ of locally-qualified, as social housing applicants must generally hold a Permanent Resident Certificate, which normally requires 14 years’ residence, rather than a work permit. It also said that delivering key homes was a higher priority than addressing eligibility definitions.
Accommodation previously described as ‘key worker’ housing currently houses only States employees, it added.
Of the stock listed, 54 GHA units – 2% of the total – are used to house States employees, described as essential workers and mostly health and social care staff.
The States owns or leases accommodation for around 450 staff across Guernsey and Alderney, but the committee said the rest did not form part of general affordable housing stock.
Deputy Le Brun welcomed the confirmation that local people would be the focus of new tenancies, but said he was still keen to learn how many of these homes would be made available for local people to buy, rather than rent.
‘I’ve long believed that we need more affordable routes into home ownership, including modest starter homes that help people get a foot on the property ladder,’ he said.
‘I’m hopeful that affordable homes to buy will form part of the programme.’