Uncovering the 'hidden' rental housing issue
FURTHER evidence outlined this week that the island’s housing problem continues to get more complex – and also that the States is pretty much powerless to do anything about it.
Today we highlight the difficulties of a local couple, whose open letter to deputies features on this page. Nothing remarkable about their background, or, certainly recently, about their story. But they have helped to highlight housing’s ‘hidden’ problem – the state of the rental market.
The overheated nature of the sales market has been well-publicised for some time. And it is quite easy to understand how that market can gather pace quickly. A house is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. But if they are prepared to pay promptly, and then the next house on the street goes the same way, it doesn’t take long to have a market approaching meltdown.
It feels surprising to see the rental market go the same way, so quickly. Historical evidence of the past 15 years shows a rental market just ticking along. One annual rise in rents above 5% over that period, which followed two years where rents actually fell.
When long-term tenants are locked in to annual rent reviews one would not expect a 15% lift. But the market must be exceptionally challenging for new tenants, or those looking to switch properties.
One local estate agent is reporting a 15% increase in average rents during the first half of this year, taking average rents to very nearly £400 a week. And they say the pool of tenants or would-be tenants is growing, while the number of properties available is shrinking, as landlords see opportunity in the sales market and seek to sell up and cash in.
This is further to the detriment of industries looking to bring people in to the island, and is known to actively dissuade candidates from taking up roles in the island.
The few deputies who responded to the letter have two things in common. Sympathy, and an inability to do anything to help. Any kind of government intervention in the rental market would not be welcomed by most, and objected to by many.
The longer-term supply issue is being addressed, slowly. But short-term there seems no solution for renters – and that will continue to have a big impact for many local families.