Politicians reject rent controls and open-ended tenancies

Politicians have rejected calls for rent controls, open ended tenancies and slower evictions - although this has not happened on the mainland of the UK.

Instead politicians on the Channel Island of Jersey have voted against a proposal to limit rent rises to once annually, and to insist that landlords should give tenants at least three months of notice before asking them to pay more.

One of the island’s leading politicians - Sam Mezec, a deputy in the legislative chamber known as the States - also wanted controls to ensure any rent rise would be capped by a measure of affordability such as average inflation over the preceding three years.

He also called for the abolition of so-called ‘no-fault” evictions, the introduction of open-ended tenancies, and longer periods of mediation and discussion before eviction; eviction periods would then be based on how long tenants have lived in the property.

"Whilst some may make ideologically motivated critiques of rent control in the absence of evidence to support their positions, anyone taking an objective view of Jersey's rental market cannot honestly conclude that our system of a lack of any rent regulation has been anything other than a catastrophe for renters and is having a harmful macroeconomic impact on the whole island" Mezec told his fellow Deputies. 

However, the States did agree to create an independent body, such as a Rent Tribunal or Housing Commission, to adjudicate on disputes involving landlords and tenants.

Jersey housing minister David Warr urged opposition to Mezec’s plans, saying that a current public consultation on related issues would be undermined by an early vote in favour of such proposals

"To accept the deputy's [Mezec’s] proposition now takes away the public's opportunity to meaningfully contribute to these vital changes to residential tenancy legislation … The stakes are simply too high to get this wrong" Warr says.

The results of the consultation will be debated by the island’s politicians in spring 2024.

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