'I had to cut my hours at hospital for housing'

A dementia nursing assistant had to cut her hours before being evicted in order to qualify for the urgent housing list.

In June 2024, Jayne Joseph and her daughter Christiana were told their landlord planned to sell the property they had been living in for more than two decades and they would need to move out.

Days later she made her application for social housing, which was rejected because she earned about £100 above the threshold to qualify for help.

Ed Ashton, director of operations for social security, States housing & inclusion, said "we want to house people as soon as possible, however, being able to provide accommodation relies on a property becoming available for them".

House building has been established as a priority for the States of Guernsey this term and work to address the island's housing crisis did take place during the last political term with the creation of the Guernsey Housing Plan.

Jayne said: "I'm trapped at the moment because to qualify for housing, I've had to lower my hours on the weekend, because as a carer, that's when we earn more money.

"So I've done that. I've managed to get on the list after being turned down twice."

She asked the landlord to take her to court so they could have a Stay of Eviction issued.

The family has therefore been rated as band one, which is considered the most urgent.

• Band one includes those who are homeless, living in emergency accommodation, at risk of coming to serious harm as a direct result of their current accommodation, given a notice to quit served by HM Sheriff or Stay of Eviction issued by a court
• Band two covers the property being too small to meet needs, unaffordable rent, poor housing standards and health being negatively impacted by current housing
• Band three is anyone who does not meet criteria in the first two bands

The family say the property they are leaving has gradually fallen into disrepair.

In August 2024, an environmental health report deemed the standard of the flat as "poor due to disrepair at the property".

The BBC asked the landlord about the condition of the flat but they did not provide an answer.

The landlord did say they were charging the tenants low rent.

The notes from the report include damp and mould in the bedroom, water ingress by the lights and that the property does not meet modern fire safety standards.

Christiana said: “I quite frankly, don't really feel very supported at all to be honest.

“What I don't understand is the banding seems sort of almost meaningless because you're meant to be you know band one priority which is what we're on but we're not being prioritised and we're not being housed, we're not being offered any viable solution other than being told to rent privately when there is no way that we can afford that.”

At the end of February, Jayne will be homeless and plans to sofa surf and live out of a car until she can find secure housing.

States figures show there are currently 25 applicants waiting for a one-bed property with the estimated wait about two years.

For a two-bed property it is a 15-month wait and 14 applicants are on that list.

There is one applicant for a three-bed but that could still take about one year.

For a four-bed, whilst there are no current applicants, there is still a two-year wait.

Ashton said: "When a property is vacated, we can't immediately make it available as there will often be works required to bring it back to an appropriate standard.

"This relies on contractor availability, which can also impact the time taken to make a vacant property available to someone."

According to the latest property price bulletin, the average house prices have fallen over the past year - but rental prices have grown.

Average rental price was £2,112 a month, which represented a rise of 53% in the five years since quarter three of 2020 (£1,375).

Ashton said: "We remain committed to supporting those who are struggling to find suitable housing, and would urge anyone facing such hardship to contact Income Support by emailing IncomeSupport@gov.gg."

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