Minister scolds politicians as landlord vote pushed back

Wednesday 26 February 2020

The Environment Minister has scolded his fellow politicians after they voted to defer a decision on his plans to introduce a landlord licensing scheme.

Instead of voting on the legislation yesterday, States Members instead asked for more information about how the fees associated with the scheme will be affected by inflation.

After failing to convince Members not to push the debate back, Environment Minister Deputy John Young said that his thoughts about the Assembly’s vote were “not printable."

When he was called upon to introduce the next debate - on the Carbon Neutral Strategy - Deputy Young said: “Sorry, sir, I was just gathering my thoughts after that situation, which frankly are not printable... I will do my best as my responsibility to the community to pull myself together and try and make a proposal for a new policy although I have to say one wonders whether those policies will ever be capable of being implemented with this Assembly as it behaves."

Deputy Young’s sharply-worded critique came after States Members decided by 24 votes to 18 to defer a decision on his proposal.

The Rented Dwellings proposal will no longer be debated today after the #StatesAssembly voted to request information on the potential inflationary effects first be added to the proposal.

RESULT: 24 FOR vs. 18 AGAINST

— States Assembly (@StatesAssembly) February 25, 2020

The proposed legislation would oblige landlords to hold a licence, costing up to £200, and be subject to inspections as part of a clampdown on low-quality rental accommodation in the island.

It’s hoped that the new scheme would standardise rented properties in Jersey for tenants, but the plans have received a mixed response.

The Jersey Landlords Association have already condemned the proposals as “costly and intrusive bureaucracy”, and a senior property lawyer has also raised concerns with Express about the inadvertent negative impact such a scheme might cause for tenants. 

Pictured: The debate will come back to the Assembly once more information is ascertained.

During the debate, Deputy Rowland Huelin called for the proposal to be pushed back so that the Assembly could have more details on the inflationary effects of Deputy Young’s proposition.

Deputy Huelin said: "I am not concerned about the ultimate destination this proposition takes us, but I am deeply concerned about the journey and its potential unforeseen consequences." He added that his "main concern" is the danger of "inflationary costs" associated with rental prices.

"I believe it is very irresponsible of us as a government in a very overheated market to proceed with such measures without fully understanding and doing the detailed consultation of the likelihood of the rents going up as a result of this proposition."

In response, the Minister spoke passionately against this, saying: “I say that the real debate should be about whether we weigh what is the potential inflation issue against safety of matters to do with gas inspection and circuit breakers on electricals which could kill people. So, that's a judgment you have to make. That's the real issue. What I'd like you to do is put this reference back out of the way, let's get on and deal with the main debate."

The move has, however, been welcomed by the Jersey Landlords' Association. They said: "The Jersey Landlords Association welcomes the decision of the States Assembly to defer the debate on the proposed licensing of rental dwellings due to a lack of research into its inflationary impact. We have been arguing that the proposals will lead to higher rents, either through costs being passed on or through reduced supply.

"Either way, we think that there a real risk that it will end up hurting the very people it is aimed to protect. It now appears that many States members share our concerns.  Like the Minister, we are keen to see the promotion of good standards in the sector, but we think there are better and more cost effective ways of going about it, most notably by making the existing law work better. We now have an opportunity to rethink the way forward and the JLA stands ready to help in any way it can."