Budget criticised for lack of landlord support

Jeff Guilbert said the island was losing four to six landlords every month

The latest budget from Guernsey's Policy and Resources Committee is not doing enough to support the rental housing sector, the head of the island's private landlords' association has said.

Jeff Guilbert complained that the continued removal of mortgage interest relief would lead to more landlords leaving the sector, pushing rents up.

P&R has proposed to continue the phased reduction of mortgage interest relief, which, if approved, will mean it will drop to £2,500 from £3,500.

To support landlords, P&R has proposed the removal of an extra rate of Document Duty on transactions which are not people's primary home.

'Haemorrhaging landlords'

The average cost of a rental property in Guernsey was £2,075 per month at the end of June, 0.3% higher than the previous quarter, 5.3% higher than the second quarter of 2024 and 50.8% higher than five years ago.

As part of efforts to tackle the high prices, P&R President Lindsay de Sausmarez said she wanted to make it easier for landlords to purchase property by altering document duty rates.

But Mr Guilbert said it was not enough and "we are haemorrhaging landlords like there is no tomorrow".

"At the moment, we are losing four to six every month," he said.

He welcomed the removal of the higher rate of document duty for landlords, but said the most important factor in the 2026 budget for his members was mortgage interest relief.

In 2015, the States adopted a policy to gradually reduce the rate of mortgage interest relief.

"It is a killer, an absolute killer. In a lot of cases, your rental is swallowed up by just the interest," Mr Guilbert said.

Deputy Marc Leadbeater said proposed cash limits for committees were realistic

President of the Committee for Home Affairs Marc Leadbeater commended P&R on the 2026 budget.

He said: "I think P&R's approach to the budget process is a pragmatic one, and the proposed cash limits for committees are realistic.

"Obviously, at Home Affairs, there are areas where the service leads will feel they should have received additional funding.

"But we all understand that, collectively, we need to cut our cloth accordingly in the current financial climate."

Deputy Andy Sloan says he will vote against this budget

His opinion was not shared by Scrutiny Management Committee President Andy Sloan.

He said: "It is not what I think the public want, and I will not be voting for it.

"You cannot keep increasing expenditure."

States of Guernsey's Chief Executive Boley Smillie has been tasked with finding £4m of savings next year, while committees have been given an extra £12m on their budgets above inflation.

They had asked for about £30m.

Denise McGahy said work was needed to "encourage landlords in town to fill their buildings"

Business owner Denise McGahy said she would have liked to see a freeze on property tax rates.

In the budget, domestic property tax rates are set to increase by 8.3%, while commercial rates are set to go up by 5%.

Mrs McGahy said: "I would like to have seen TRP [Tax on Real Property] on rented town or commercial properties frozen or being lower than empty buildings.

"Something to encourage landlords in town to fill their buildings rather than let them sit empty, as currently there is no real incentive."