Long-term hotel stays for workers on permits extended

The period in which hundreds of people who reside in Guernsey on work permits can stay in accommodation such as hotels while they look for housing has been extended.

Such residents are skilled workers in short supply, who are granted a permit to live and work in Guernsey. There are currently 422 accommodation "units" in use, many of them by key workers.

The Development and Planning Authority (DPA) recently extended the period from 28 February this year to 28 February 2027. DPA vice-president Deputy Lee Van Katwyk says the island has serious housing pressures and the extension will help.

Guernsey Hospitality Association president Alan Sillett says it will give hoteliers much-needed certainty.

The previous Policy and Resources Committee wanted to build the infrastructure to house them long-term, and the current committee has also shown its eagerness to do so.

Van Katwyk says this will lead to a more permanent solution.

He said the decision to extend the length of time people could stay was to avoid over-saturation of the the housing market.

"The people I've spoken to are grateful to have some form of accommodation.

"We're looking at numbers around 422 units currently in use, so if we suddenly stop this exemption, we're going to flood the housing market with another 422, if not more, people looking for accommodation.

"It's working at the moment, it's not a full-time solution, people shouldn't be living in hotels if they don't have to."

Van Katwyk said he believed there was unlikely to be much change in the situation within the next two years - but was hopeful it would happen within the current political term.

The deputy is also tourism lead on the Economic Development Committee and admitted there were times when the island was full of tourists - and an extra 422 hotel beds would be very helpful.

But he added: "We've been told by some accommodation providers if they didn't have this option to house our key workers then they would have closed their doors a couple of years ago."

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