Number of people living without secure housing rises in Guernsey
Jim Roberts Chief Executive from the Guernsey Community Foundation reflects on the figures
Waiting lists for social housing in Guernsey are at a 12-year high as the number of people living without secure homes rises.
New figures into homelessness in the island released by the Guernsey Community Foundation (GCF), shows that a growing number of islanders do not have access to affordable, secure and adequate housing.
The GCF's definition of 'homeless' is anyone that is lacking at least two of those three elements.
From December 2020 until December 2021, private rents increased by 20.0% while average real earnings only increased by 0.5%.
In the 10 weeks following the end of the second lockdown in March 2021, housing staff received between five and eight applications per week from private tenants who had been given notice by their landlord.
According to the report, islanders who are now applying for social housing could have afforded to rent privately in previous years.
The GCF highlights an 'unseen network of unsuitable housing' across the island, which includes housing which is poor quality, short-term, expensive and lacking in privacy.
Those at the highest risk of facing homelessness in Guernsey include single parents, survivors of abuse and care leavers.
The report lists eight factors driving homelessness in the island. They are:
Rising private rents
Underregulated private tenancies
Lack of tenants' rights
Lack of housing (particularly social housing)
Lack of coordinated support services
An overburdened third sector
A lack of a strategic focus at government level
An imprecise understanding of affordable housing needs contributing to an inadequate development programme.
The full report can be found here.
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