Greed affecting those trying to find a home
READING the Guernsey Press on Tuesday 9 November ref the sad situation of a local couple’s struggle to find a home to rent at a reasonable price, Miss Hirst explains how situations have arisen in this island – even her offers of paying the amount required have been ‘gazzumped’ for a higher one. This is just pure greed by the landlords within this island.
She has contacted all the deputies in our States on the subject and has received replies from four. She asks that our States should act now and come up with drastic solutions to improve our housing crisis, one possible suggestion is to provide a housing law on capping the rental amount based on the quality of the property to rent.
One deputy has said he does not agree with the idea of capping the rent due, he believes, in the free market. We have news for you Miss Hirst as I believe you will not get any support from our deputies as some of them are property owners and rent them out, and I am sure this is not an answer to the problem, surprise, surprise.
We have an issue in our island of at least 1,500 job vacancies that we need to fill and the main problem is the affordability of housing in our island. Our health department is struggling at the moment on this, also hospitality and finance, and yet our States seem to turn their back on this serious problem.
There is extreme wealth in our island, take a look on the roads at how many hi-spec cars there are driving around. Recently the States has granted those in social housing a right to earn more without being penalised in tax, best of luck to them.
It is time that our deputies should seriously look at this housing crisis and take steps to improve the situation, even those who are in the property rental market should take up the mantle.
Too much greed on this island is affecting everyone trying to find a home. We are not a Third World country as we are a financially rich island, so deputies do something to alleviate the problem and help those trying to find a home.
Recently the States agreed to letting those children of open market residents purchase local market property if they have been here more than eight years. Is this fair? Our housing situation is a disgrace due to weak government.
R S MAUGER