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STATES OF JERSEY
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HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS FOR FIRST-TIME BUYERS: ALLOCATION CRITERIA (P.53/2019) – COMMENTS
Presented to the States on 2nd July 2019 by the Minister for Children and Housing
STATES GREFFE
2019 P.53 Com.(2)
COMMENTS
The Minister for Children and Housing supports this Proposition (P.53/2019).
The Objective Assessment of Housing Need Report' ("OAHNR"), published in January 2019, sets out Jersey's housing requirements for the next decade, and will inform preparation of the 2021–2030 Island Plan. The OAHNR projects that 1,100 affordable homes for purchase will be needed over the Plan period. This is an evidence-based Island-wide need that will be used to inform planning decisions in respect of affordable housing provision.
The Minister is of the opinion that affordable homes for purchase should be allocated based on need, rather than the demonstration of a connection to a parish in which a development is located. Need is determined on the basis of factors such as a household's financial position and composition relative to its ability to meet its needs in the open market. A household's ability to purchase a property via an assisted purchase property should, therefore, be based on a demonstrable need, rather than a link to a particular parish.
The Minister also agrees to publish an access and allocation criteria for assisted purchase schemes. There are currently more than 1,300 households who wish to purchase an assisted ownership home registered on the Affordable Housing Gateway waiting-list. As the number of households who are on the waiting-list increases, it is important that clear and transparent information is available for people to understand the eligibility criteria (e.g. income requirements; savings; bedroom need) for accessing the waiting-list, and how decisions around the allocation of properties are made.
This work is already underway as one of the outputs of the review of access to social housing, which has recommended the production of (i) a concise policy statement; (ii) an operational manual; and (iii) customer-friendly guidance around the access and eligibility criteria, and assessment and allocation processes for social rented and assisted purchase housing.
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Statement under Standing Order 37A [Presentation of comment relating to a proposition]
These comments were submitted to the States Greffe after the noon deadline as set out in Standing Order 37A in order that final review processes could be completed.
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