Housing concerns as eviction notices rise

Wednesday 28 April 2021

Concerns that the end of the covid freeze on rent rises and evictions would see more islanders placed in precarious housing situations appear to be crystallising – with the number of eviction proceedings started since the beginning of the year six times higher than last year.

Citizens Advice Jersey is aware of at least 12 cases where islanders have either been evicted or where the eviction process has started – whereas there had only been two at the same time last year.

Since the beginning of the year, the charity has been involved in 33 cases where people were under the threat of homelessness - nearly three times as many as in 2020.

They have also been supporting 10 homeless islanders, compared to seven last year.

Chief Executive Malcolm Ferey said the numbers paint “a pretty powerful picture”, adding: “Since the start of this year, we have seen an increase in clients who are facing the threat of eviction and while many of these, because of our interventions, have not turned into full-blown eviction proceedings, the distress caused to tenants is, of course, palpable,” he said.

“Whilst a lot of people might be thinking, ‘this is 33 people out of an island of a hundred odd thousand, it’s very small’, each one of those might be a family, it might be loved ones being affected so whilst the numbers are not massive, there is still a concern when we see people in those life-changing situations.”

The Petty Debts Court, which deals with tenancy claims, has heard 15 cases since the beginning of 2021 – although not all of them have resulted in an eviction being granted. Across all of last year, they heard a total of 24 cases. 

Pictured: So far this year, the Petty Debts Court has heard 15 tenancy cases.

Meanwhile, Citizens Advice Jersey has also seen an increase in the number of tenants with rent arrears and tenants facing rental increases, which they cannot always afford. 

“Whilst it’s great that since we unlocked, business is largely coming back, there are still lots of people who are on Co-funded Payroll and therefore have taken a cut in their salaries,’ Mr Ferey explained.

“There’s lots of people who are not getting the extra work that they used to at the weekends, or working in nightclubs or pubs, so what that adds up to is, when someone gets what might be a reasonably modest increase in their rents, that can trip their finances over in the wrong direction.

“It’s really important that landlords realise the stress individuals are under, not detracting from the fact that lots of landlords have their own mortgages to pay as well. I think we always consider that landlords are rich homeowners, but plenty of landlords have mortgages to pay on that property so it’s not always as cut and dry as people might think.” 

Pictured: The number of islanders facing rent increases is also on the rise.

Citizens Advice Jersey has also noticed a growing number of landlords are deciding to sell their property, and has been advising tenants and landlords on their rights and responsibilities as well as in their negotiations to provide vacant possession.

Mr Ferey explained that the situation is not surprising for the charity but does highlight “a need for change".

“During the pandemic when there was a moratorium on rent increase and a moratorium on evictions, we always expected that once that was lifted, there would be an increase in both of those things and these numbers do demonstrate that that fear was real," he said, noting that fortunately this rise hadn't been as severe as initial predictions.

He added: “Whilst there’s always more work that a government can do to prevent people from becoming homeless or prevent them from going through the stress of evictions, the reality is we are at the play of market forces and if landlords decide to evict someone for not paying the rent or decide to sell the property, there’s very little that government can do other than provide a safety for when people need homes, which is part of the longer-term strategy, but does not help people here and now.”

Pictured: Empty offices could be turned into emergency housing, Mr Ferey said.

Mr Ferey called for more protection around rental increases as well as more protection and support for those who are going through the eviction process or faced with homelessness.

“For anyone, it is stressful but particularly when there is children involved because there is an added damage in there,” he said. “The Magistrate is of course very sympathetic to those cases and will usually do what they can do, but what they can’t take away is the stress and pressure of being faced with that situation.

“We should be providing more of a safety net for people who are at immediate risk of homelessness and providing more support for people that are actively trying to find a new home because they find themselves in this situation. Whilst Andium is a great resource, they have only got the tools that they can work with and there really should be more emergency housing for people that need it, so that they don’t have to scramble around and end up staying with friends and loved ones for short periods of time, which is, again if they are children involved, very unsettling.

“It’s really important that we head down that road.”

Mr Ferey said that changes in working habits, as more companies introduce flexible working, might provide a solution to the crisis.

“I guess one of the positives of more people working from home is in the immediate future, there will probably be more office space that can be turned into different types of accommodation,” he said.

“There are places that could be turned into flats, into more sheltered housing, into more emergency accommodation. Even if we didn’t build anything else, there are lots of offices in town that have become vacant and that can be turned into something far more of use to the community.”