Tax breaks for lodgers to help fix housing crisis

Vice President of Policy and Resources Heidi Soulsby is seeking a solution to the housing crisis

A Guernsey politician says a policy of tax relief for spare room renters can be achieved by the end of the year as a solution to the ongoing housing shortage.

Policy and Resources Vice President Heidi Soulsby has been pushing for the amendment after it was passed by The States in late 2022.

Ms Soulsby is now renewing her commitment to the postponed plans after a Policy and Resources (P&R) report into the idea due for completion last March, never materialised.

She said: "There was real frustration for me because it was a quick win, so hopefully now I am back on P&R I can really try to move that forward.

"At the same time as being able to house people coming over here, it could also help when it comes to loneliness and supporting the more elderly on the island who have a spare room to let.

"Building houses can take an extortionate amount of time, but we could actually do something that could happen quickly and deal with the crisis we’ve got right now."

It comes as an independent report into the housing situation in Guernsey highlighted tax breaks for live-in landlords as an opportunity to alleviate the burden on the overcrowded housing market.

A similar scheme was introduced in Jersey this year, providing an income tax exemption for those letting out a room in their home using a 'rent-a-room' arrangement.

The tax-free allowance there is capped at £10,000 gross income per year.

'Market failure'

Ms Soulsby said: "We don’t need to reinvent the wheel - this has been done elsewhere and I think it is something we could do relatively easily.

"We know it is multi faceted - it’s a complex market failure we are seeing here and there’s different ways we can deal with it."

She continued: “It’s clear we have a market failure here and that non intervention has been a major reason for it.

"If we are going to make any change here and we absolutely have to, there needs to be government intervention.

"I am hoping with that backup and the drive within the states now we can make it happen."