Homes Allocated By The Affordable Housing Gateway

WQ.280/2022

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES BY DEPUTY L.V. FELTHAM OF ST. HELIER CENTRAL

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 7th NOVEMBER 2022 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 14th NOVEMBER 2022

Question

“Will the Minister provide data in respect of –

1. the number of homes allocated by the Affordable Housing Gateway in 2022 to date and the total for each of the past five years (2017-2021 inclusive); and
2. the number of homes currently available for allocation by the Affordable Housing Gateway; and
3. the homes currently in development or planned for development that will become available;

with, in each instance, the statistics broken down as follows –

1. the number of bedrooms in the home (differentiated between maisonettes, bedsits, one- bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom homes);
2. the number of homes that would see 2 or more children sharing a bedroom (broken down by the number of children sharing a bedroom);
3. the number of homes that would have children of different genders sharing a bedroom;
4. the number of homes that meet specific accessibility needs;
5. the number of homes with no outside space, those with a balcony, and those with a garden; and
6. the number of homes with access to a parking space?”

Answer

1. The Affordable Housing Gateway does not allocate any homes. The Gateway is a waiting list, which Andium Homes and the other social housing providers use in order to allocate their respective vacant homes. However, the total number of homes allocated are:

 

2022 01/01 - 08/11	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
484	420	323	271	356	283

2. It is not possible to provide the total number of homes currently available for allocation because the Government only has access to Andium Homes’ data. There are other social housing providers that allocate homes to Islanders on the Gateway. Andium Homes advertise all their vacant homes on their website:

Homes to rent (andiumhomes.je)

This changes on a weekly basis as properties are allocated, and new properties come through as tenants give notice or when new supply is being delivered. Properties are only advertised once keys have been returned from outgoing tenants and void refurbishment works are nearing completion. Therefore, in addition to those listed on the website, at any given time there will be more homes that are still going through the process.

As of Monday 14 November, Andium has:

• 15 homes where notice has been given – keys not yet returned from outgoing tenants

• 19 properties that are undergoing various levels of void refurbishment works

• 18 properties advertised on the website that are due to be allocated.

There are an additional 47 new homes which are being advertised at Cyril Le Marquand Court – these are due for completion at the end of November.

3. As explained in (b), it is only possible to provide the figures in relation to Andium Homes, which is currently delivering the following:

 

	Cyril Le Marquand Court (Ann Court)	Mayfair	Le Marais (refurbished)	Edinburgh House (La Collette)	The Limes	The Limes (refurbished)
Studio	0	0	14	0	0	0
1 bed flat	105	147	14	73	39	14
2 bed flat	27	50	28	65	80	3
3 bed flat	0	4	0	9	6
Total	132	201	56	147	125	17
PC	Jul-23	Aug-25	Mar-23	Jul-23	Jul-24	Jul-24

Andium Homes’ housing projects in planning or post-planning and pre-construction:

 

	Brewery	Pomme D'or	Northern Quarter	Total in planning or post-planning and pre-construction
Studio flat	0	0	0	0
1 bed flat	172	10	122	304
2 bed flat	85	2	41	128
3 bed mixed	5 flats		6 houses	11
Total	262	12	169	443
PC	Feb-27	Sep-24	Apr-26

Summary:

 

	Grand total (excluding refurbished)	Grand total
Studio	14	28
1 bed	696	724

2 bed  381  412 3 bed  30  30 Total  1121  1194

1. As above.
2. It is not possible to provide this answer because homes are allocated to applicants based on their family’s needs. Therefore, if children required separate rooms then they would be allocated a home to meet these needs. Homes will not be offered if more than two children would have to share a room because the property would be deemed to be grossly overcrowded.
3. It is Gateway policy that children of different genders share a bedroom up until the age of five. Once the eldest is five they would qualify for their own room. If there is more than five years between children who are the same gender, they would also qualify for their own room. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of the number of homes in which this is the case.
4. All Andium Homes properties are built to building bye-laws accessibility standards. Andium holds a dedicated medical adaptation budget to cater for individual client requirements.  Where  new  homes  have  been  pre-allocated  to  clients  with  specific accessibility needs, these will be addressed in partnership with the client and their occupational therapist, where possible.
5. All Andium Homes properties are built to Planning standards with a mix of private and communal amenity space. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of this space in the time given.
6. All Andium Homes properties have access to a parking permit, rather than a parking space.