Property Plan and States Rental Waiting List: Update Report for 2011

STATES OF JERSEY

PROPERTY PLAN AND STATES RENTAL WAITING LIST: UPDATE REPORT FOR 2011

Presented to the States on 25th July 2012 by the Minister for Housing

STATES GREFFE

2012   Price code: B  R.98

REPORT

1. Introduction

During the debate which ultimately saw the approval of the Social Housing Property Plan 2007 – 2016, the Minister for Housing made a commitment to report back to the States regularly on the progress of the Plan in action and on the level of the States Rental Waiting List.

In January 2012, the Affordable Housing Gateway was launched and significantly changed the manner in which demand for social rented housing is measured. To ensure  adequate  transition  between  the  2 systems,  the  2011  Report  has  been intentionally delayed in order to include data from the first half of 2012.

2. Property sales Sales to States tenants

The following properties were sold, through the provision of the deferred payment scheme approved in P.6/2007, to tenants during 2011 –

These sales represent homes purchased by the current ("sitting") tenants and those properties which became void ("vacant") due to natural turnover, and which were then sold to other States tenants who released their existing homes for re-letting. These processes ensured that what took place was effectively a change in tenure, no tenants were displaced, and the sales did not adversely affect the rental waiting lists. Indeed, given that the income from these and previous sales were used to develop 34 new homes at Salisbury Crescent, which were completed in June 2011, it could be said that these sales actually improved the waiting list position.

The sales were made with a deferred payment calculated according to the needs of the purchaser. This reduced the actual capital received on sale to £1,353,750, with the balance of £451,250 being secured as deferred payment bonds against the respective properties.

Open market sales

The following properties were sold on the open market during 2011 –

3. Use of sale proceeds

As already mentioned above, the sales contributed to the development of new homes at Salisbury Crescent; and more generally, the proceeds of the sales have contributed in meeting the demands of the Department's capital programme and in starting to address the backlog of maintenance.

Completed projects in 2011

Projects underway

*Funded in part by capital advances from the Treasury

Planned projects

There is an extensive forward capital programme being developed to deal with the remainder of the maintenance backlog, and to redevelop key sites which are capable of delivering additional affordable homes. This programme will be published annually in both the States and Department Business Plans.

Assets acquired

The States' approval of the Property Plan gave authority for the use of sale proceeds to acquire new units to meet the growing demand for sheltered housing', now more commonly referred to as life-long homes'. This anticipated that a significant number of  social  rented  life-long  homes  would  have  been  developed  by  private  sector developers and that opportunities would exist for the States to acquire at least some of these homes to help re-align its social housing stock. Significant land was rezoned for this purpose in 2008 which indicated that some 337 new homes could be developed. However, mainly due to the financial climate, very little development has been carried out, the exceptions being 2 Parish-led schemes in St. Peter and St. Mary . Overall, the lack of supply of the expected social rented life-long homes has frustrated efforts to re-align the social stock so that it better meets the needs of the ageing population.

On a more positive note, an additional 34 units were developed at Salisbury Crescent in 2011, and a further 60 homes were completed at Le Squez in May 2012.

4(a)  Waiting List Report 2011

The  Waiting  List*  as  at  1st  January  2012  comprised  522 families/individuals. Comparison figures for the position at 1st January in previous years are –

During  2011,  230 families/individuals  were  housed  from  the  Waiting  List.* Comparison figures for previous years are –

*These figures do not take into account those applicants who are existing States tenants awaiting a transfer to alternative accommodation, these are new waiting list applicants only.

Figures reported above and in previous years have only taken into account the demand evidenced on the Housing Departments waiting list. They did not take into account the "hidden" demand reflected in the various waiting lists being held separately by the Housing Trusts. The following Trusts have each held their own waiting lists since the commencement of operation –

A total of 37 applicants were housed by the Housing Trusts collectively during 2011. Thirteen  of  those  allocations  were  made  from  the  Trusts'  nomination  rights  to applicants represented on both the Trust and Housing Department waiting list. The remaining  24  were  allocated  directly  from  the  Housing  Department  waiting  list through the nomination process in place during that year –

4(b)  Affordable Housing Gateway 6 month Report January – June 2012

In January 2012, the "Affordable Housing Gateway" was launched. This brought together the various waiting lists into one common list. All applicants have been fully re-assessed against a new Banding system and their level of housing need identified. Priority within the individual bands is in application date order.

Key achievements

• Common application form being used by customers;
• Single waiting list created which includes those applicants previously only registered with a Housing Trust;
• Housing Trust waiting lists have closed;
• All social rented homes now allocated from the Gateway list;
• Homes are being allocated to applicants in the greatest need, who have been

waiting the longest.

The Gateway is now able to demonstrate a more realistic and accurate figure of those in housing need.

Rolling 12 month Totals (new applicants and transfers)

The  way  in  which  this  single  waiting  list  is  managed  has  also  been  improved. Applicants are assessed against one set of criteria which allows the application to be placed in an appropriate Priority Band. Only Bands 1, 2, 3 & 6 can be reasonably compared with figures generated from the Housing Departments previous waiting list.

The graph below shows a breakdown by bedroom size need for those new applicants registered with the Gateway as at the beginning of January 2012, in Bands 1, 2, 3 and 6.

N.B.  These figures do not include numbers of existing tenants of a social housing

landlord requiring a transfer.

The graph below shows a breakdown by bedroom size need for those applicants registered with the Gateway as at the close of June 2012, in Bands 1, 2, 3 and 6.

N.B.  These figures do not include numbers of existing tenants of a social housing

landlord requiring a transfer.

Figures  demonstrate  a  continuing  need  for  one-  and  two-bedroom  units,  where particularly the elderly and those younger, smaller families, are clearly struggling to source suitable, affordable accommodation in the private sector. A greater supply of these smaller units would also enable social housing providers to release a number of existing family homes currently being under occupied.

The Housing Trusts now use the Gateway to allocate their void properties, moving away  from  the  previously  used  50%  nomination  rights,  so  that  applicants  are considered for a far greater pool of properties.

The statistics  being  generated  by  the  Affordable  Housing  Gateway  are  published monthly  on  the  www.gov.je  website  and  sent  to  the  Planning  and  Environment Department. The Minister for Planning and Environment controls supply, and it is proposed that the data being recorded by the Gateway will be used to better inform decisions on land use.

The  Minister for  Housing  is currently  proposing  the  establishment  of  a  Strategic Housing Unit which, if approved by the States, will take on responsibility for the Affordable Housing Gateway. Demand being recorded by the Gateway will be used by the Strategic Housing Unit to independently champion new supply from the Planning and Environment Department and to develop new affordable housing policy.

The States' approval of P.40/2012 "Social Housing Schemes: Funding" established the funding mechanism to bring forward a number of schemes which will deliver some 121 new States-owned homes for social rented use. The majority of these will be life- long homes for the over-55s.