Jersey social housing rent increase delayed

Jersey Homes Trust tenants will have rising rental costs delayed by one month

The island's largest independent provider of social rented homes has delayed planned rent increases following government intervention.

Jersey Homes Trust (JHT) was set to increase rental prices in April after recently informing tenants, but have now delayed increases until 1 May.

The housing and communities minister said the delay would allow tenants more time to sort financial arrangements.

Political party Reform Jersey said rent control was needed in the island.

In a letter to the government on Monday, leader of the party Deputy Sam Mezec said JHT tenants had been given "just three weeks notice" that their rent would increase by 9%.

The minister for housing and communities Deputy David Warr wrote to JHT on Tuesday to defer the increase by one month.

"Although JHT have held rents stable over the past few years, the higher increase in some of the rents will have distressed many families where household budgets need to be carefully planned," he said.

The government said JHT rents were frozen in 2020 and 2021, increased by 3.8% in 2022 in line with the Retail Price Index and were set to remain below it for 2023.

Mr Warr said the delay would give tenants "better opportunity to get financial arrangements in place", and allow those who needed to speak with the Housing Advice Service or Income Support teams.

Jersey Homes Trust chairman Philip Le Cornu said trustees agreed to the government's "reasonable request", and it was "in the process" of communicating the change to its tenants.

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