Matching scheme 'could help islanders find homes'

Helen Litchfield has been hosting lodgers since 2012

A scheme which would vet renters and match them with islanders letting out their spare rooms could ease housing pressures, according to a Guernsey charity.

At Home in Guernsey, a homeless charity, is working with islanders to set up an official process which it says might encourage more people to let out rooms in their home.

Charity CEO, Charlie Cox, said she thought Guernsey's "generous" community wanted to help people look for accommodation but needed support to do it.

It follows similar schemes in the UK which aims to prevent loneliness and make the most of existing housing.

Helen Litchfield, 69, lives near Vazon and has been taking on lodgers since 2012 as a way of supplementing her income and having some company at home.

She said: "It's worked really well.

"Communication is key and as long as you set some basic ground rules and you have a decent contract in place, you can't really go too far wrong."

She has had about 20 lodgers in 13 years and said she had taken on people who spent a short time in Guernsey before their family arrived in the island, and single people who were looking for accommodation.

"It enables people, in some cases, to get back on their feet a little bit, and give them some breathing space to chill and make decisions."

'Initial contact the hardest'

She said while there were sometimes challenges, and you have to be "tolerant and accepting" and it was "very, very rare" to have a problem with a lodger.

Before finding her most recent lodger, she asked a friend to vet someone looking for a room and decide if she would be suitable.

She said she would welcome a charity or a community group being set up to help landlords through that process.

"The initial contact is the hardest bit, so having a group to vet lodgers and landlords and match them up might help a good deal."

At Home in Guernsey was set up in 2024 to combat homelessness

Ms Cox said since At Home in Guernsey was established in 2024 she knew she wanted to offer opportunities for more islanders to find housing.

"Anyone can rent a room out in their house if they've got a spare room, but what we would provide is a bit of vetting on either side, to make sure it's the right match for both parties and to add some comfort and assurance that it's going to be a success.

"It offers a bit more than just a room. It offers connection, some reduced isolation and the security of being part of a wider network, rather than just renting a room somewhere you don't know.

"Guernsey is an incredibly generous community and people want to help."

She said the charity would start next year by matching single households with single individuals, then scale the project up to offer host homes for key workers in the future.

She said taking part in a homeshare scheme was a way that islanders could take advantage of the States of Guernsey's rent-a-room scheme, in which they did not have to pay tax on the first £10,000 earned by letting out a room in their home.

She said providing support and vetting could encourage more people to open up their home.

Similar schemes are in place in the UK which aim to combat housing shortages and loneliness

A number of organisations in the UK are set up to match people looking for affordable accommodation and those with spare rooms.

One of those, Homeshare UK, pairs older people up with younger people, who do not pay rent but agree to spend a certain number of hours per week assisting them or spending quality time together.

Homeshare UK takes a fee to match up the parties and provides regular support in person throughout the arrangement.

Ramona Amuza, from Homeshare West, said it helped older people remain independent for longer, while giving young people affordable housing.

"Every person we've matched, over 25 years, has described homesharing as a win-win. They get so much out of it."