Another social housing provider pledges rent freeze

Thursday 06 September 2018

The island’s second largest provider of social housing has joined efforts to help islanders hit by rises in the cost of living, by placing a freeze on their rents.

Jersey Homes Trust, which looks after nearly 800 properties, announced yesterday that it would not be putting tenants’ rents up amid high inflation levels and stagnant wages.

It follows a decision by States-funded provider Andium Homes last week, who said that they were “concerned” about the impact of increasing rents in line with government policy.

Current social housing guidelines state that rents should be increased annually by the rate of inflation plus 0.75%.

Pictured: If rents hadn't been frozen, they would have gone up by as much as 5.25%.

But this year that would have meant an overall price rise of 5.25% on 1 October, which could have left many islanders stretched, as average earnings had only increased by 3.5%.

That policy is now under review. 

Jersey Homes Trust Chairman Michael Van Neste commented: "We would concur with the comments made by Andium that the rental policy needs reviewing, particularly in the current economic climate.

"My Board of Trustees therefore decided to freeze residential rents for up to six months from 1st September 2018."

 Pictured: St. Saviour's Court, one of the Jersey Homes Trust estates.

The decision will affect thousands of islanders spread across the trust’s 22 sites.

Those include Victoria Place on Albert Pier, Le Grand Clos at Mont à L’Abbé, Le Coie on Springfield Road, and Berkshire Court on La Motte Street, the largest estate with 113 flats.