"Rented flats too expensive and inadequate" - report

Tuesday 29 September 2015

We’re forking out more on rent here than those living in the UK and almost twice as much as people living in Germany - and tenants have been complaining they're paying too much for sub-standard accommodation.

They say they are moving in to places that are often dirty and inadequate and they don’t always know what they have signed up to.

Jersey's Consumer Council is now calling for changes and wants to see a new voluntary accreditation scheme set up so that landlords can prove to tenants their property is up to scratch and that they are offering a good standard of accommodation for a fair price.

And with nearly half of us renting our homes they want to make sure that there’s greater transparency of the rental laws, and a standard lease agreement introduced so that both landlords and tenants know what they are getting into.

The council wants to make life easier for people on the move, and for some sort of rental checklist to be put together offering tips to find the right place for them.

Many tenants said that the high costs of renting are holding them back from buying a place of their own and the Council wants to see a system in place that would help them get out of rented accommodation and onto the property ladder.