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1240/5(8169)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOUSING BY DEPUTY M. TADIER OF ST. BRELADE
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 4th MARCH 2014
Question
Will the Minister provide a summary of the history of the policy and practice of providing carpets and flooring in States' accommodation, including all exceptions and, if relevant, state when the policy and practice changed?
Will the Minister advise whether he is aware if the Trust providers also have a similar requirement for new tenants to lay their own flooring?
Will the Minister advise whether there are any plans to require new tenants to provide their own windows in future?
Answer
I would like to start by saying that this is not a new practice at all. The Housing Department has never provided carpets to ingoing tenants. The Department currently provides appropriate flooring to both kitchens and bathrooms in all of its homes. Properties are let without carpets at allocation, unless there are good quality serviceable carpets left behind by the previous tenant.
Where the Department requires a tenant to move to a new homes so that their existing home can be redeveloped or refurbished, the cost of carpeting the new property will be met by the Department. The annual budget is usually in the region of £10,000. This has been increased this year to £40,000 in recognition of the increased refurbishment and development activity.
In 2013 a total of 416 homes were allocated; if a new policy were adopted to provide carpets for that number of homes an additional £300,000 would be added to the annual budget for void property refurbishment. This cost increase cannot be justified and would simply translate into a reduction in property maintenance elsewhere and impact significantly on the ability to deliver other commitments such as achievement of the Decent Homes Standard within 10 years.
I have been in contact with the Islands other social housing providers and our counterparts in Guernsey and the Isle of Man to establish their respective policies and practices. I am not surprised to learn that their practices are overwhelmingly similar to those of the Housing Department.
The answer to the Deputy 's third question regarding windows is no.