The official version of this document can be found via the PDF button.
The below content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments.
Paul Troalic – 22 May 2021
Scrutiny Matters Feedback - Affordable Housing
Why exactly do we need any more housing?
That is the real question.
The second question is: Is this a good time to be building with building costs and house prices at an all time high?
The third question is: What exactly is Affordable Housing?
What we need first is a population and immigration policy.
We need to know what population level is sustainable before we embark on building more housing, encouraging more people to come here and having to improve the infrastructure.
Of course we want people that already live here and are committed to the Island to aspire to buying their own properties but deaths through old age should cover part of this problem so we need to look at demographics too.
There is no easy solution to the problem of housing. Some people will never be able to buy and why should they if they do not earn enough to do so.
Affordable housing is a myth. Jersey is an expensive Island in which to live and without subsidies it will never now be possible to promote this concept.
All we can hope for is good housing that is reasonably priced and maintained. I have long hypothesized that inflated house prices are caused mainly by estate agents. These are the people that set the bar. I firmly believe that government control should be exerted here in some way.
Free market forces are well and good but greed should never be allowed to interfere.
If people are given qualifications to live here then they have a right to expect fair play and fair prices.
Guernsey's idea of open and closed markets was sound. Why not emulate that here. But get a proper Population policy implemented first please.