Tynwald committee calls for focus on 'housing crisis'

The Tynwald select committee said government had been slow to tackle housing issues

A committee has called for a "renewed focus on housing" to tackle an Isle of Man-wide "housing crisis".

The Tynwald select committee on poverty made 32 recommendations in its report to be considered and debated by political members in April.

Members said they were "frustrated" by how slow housing and homelessness issues were being addressed.

This is the first of the committee's reports to be debated by the current administration.

The board, formed in 2018, has presented two previous reports to Tynwald, the first debated in December 2019 and the second in July 2021.

Chair Juan Watterson said: "Two years after an election defined by a housing and cost of living crisis, progress from government has been slow."

He hoped the report and its recommendations would "chart a way forward to help address the housing crisis, especially for the lowest earners in society."

'Vulnerable householders'

Among the recommendations was a call to the Housing and Communities Board, working alongside Manx Care, to commission the provision of at least "20 units of emergency housing" by November this year.

It called on the Council of Ministers to commit to building a minimum of 100 older persons' housing units by 2030.

It also said the Council of Ministers should introduce support schemes for "low income and vulnerable householders and landlords, with low energy efficiency-rated properties, to make their properties more energy efficient".

The committee said there were several reasons people struggled to afford and retain good accommodation, including the cost of living, loss of employment, domestic abuse, mental health issues and relationship breakdowns.

While the committee said government had acted slowly, it recognised that a number of recommendations were being implemented.

These included the "phased transition of the minimum wage to living wage" and a change to social security legislation ensuring prisoners on short sentences could continue to pay rent when in custody.

The report is due to be debated in April's Tynwald sitting.

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