Woman estimates £10K spend on States housing carpets

Aimee Coutu says £10-11,000 has been spent on carpets at three States homes she has lived in

A woman is calling for a change in States policy after spending about £10,000 removing and fitting carpets in three States of Guernsey homes she has recently lived in with her young family.

The policy on carpets in States housing is set to be discussed by politicians in the coming weeks.

Current rules mean tenants have to pay to remove carpets on moving out, unless Housing decides it can stay. It also means many floors are left bare for new tenants.

The States of Guernsey says housing staff assess carpets and retain them where it is considered reasonable to do so.

Aimee Coutu, who is raising a family in States housing, says she has had three States homes and has had to spend "£10,000, maybe £11,000 on carpet"so far.

Some families are currently living with bare wood or concrete flooring

Ms Coutu said she had to remove carpets upon moving out of her second States house that had only been used for two years.

She was then moved into a larger house and had to fit new carpets there.

She said of a potential policy change: "So many tenants, if they were offered a house and it had carpet in already, it would lift a big weight off their shoulders.”

'Always cold'

Another States home resident, Kourtney Jones, said when she moved into her housing, the floor was completely bare.

Kourtney Jones is currently without flooring in some areas of her house

"It's caused quite a lot of depression.

"I'm quite a clean and tidy person and, since moving in here, your motivation flops and it's because you're always cold."

She said moving costs were already expensive without having to factor in flooring.

Charities have been putting forward their opinions on the policy to the States

Ed Ashton, director of operations for Social Security and Inclusion, said: "Housing staff assess carpets and retain them where it is considered reasonable to do so, and this often includes having them professionally cleaned.

"In 2022, 120 properties were vacated for various reasons (transfers, leaving social housing etc) and in approximately 25% of cases, the existing carpets were in an acceptable condition to be left in place."

Members of the Committee for Employment and Social Security have said they will be discussing the policy and proposed changes in the coming weeks.