LOCAL INFORMATION
11.8.1.L8
The Affordable Housing Gateway , Affordable Home Purchase Schemes and the Housing Trusts and Associations
Extent: Jersey
Last updated: November 2016
See also:
11.1.17 Social Housing Accomodation
11.1.20.L1 Housing Trusts and Associations
Words You May Need to Know
Affordable – when the cost of something is an amount you might reasonably afford
Affordable housing– words now often used to describe ‘social housing’
Open market rent – ie rent that is not controlled and so there is no limit about how much can be charged
Housing provider – here, an organisation providing accommodation through the Affordable Housing Gateway
Eligible – to be entitled to or qualify for something
Transfer – move from one thing to another
Assessed – considered
Stock - supply
Determine – decide
Qualify – certain rules are met or satisfied
Household income – money that people living either on their own or together ( eg a family, a couple) has to spend on living
Exceeds – goes over a limit; more than allowed for
Private sector– ie not government owned or managed
Allocate – give to
Reflect– represents
Priority/prioritise - place in order of need or importance
Resident/s - someone who lives for a long time in one place
Priority banding – a system to help prioritise the needs of those people who apply for affordable housing
Demonstrate – show
Scheme – a plan or arrangement that manages the way something is done
Administer - to run or to manage something
Tenant– someone who rents property
Affordable housing is accommodation provided at below open market rents to households who need support in accessing appropriate accommodation. Affordable accommodation is provided by housing providers such as Andium Homes and the Housing Trusts. (For more information about Andium Homes and the Housing Trusts see below)
The Affordable Housing Gateway has been developed to become the single route for people who want to apply to live in affordable housing. The Gateway manages a single waiting list which both Andium and all the Housing Trusts use when allocating their stock of properties.
The Gateway also manages applications from existing Andium Homes and housing trust tenants who already live in an affordable housing property but wish to transfer to another one, e.g. because they require larger accommodation.
When a person applies for affordable housing, their application will be assessed by the Gateway to decide whether they are eligible for affordable housing. In order to qualify for affordable housing, a person must:
-Have housing qualifications
-Have been in Jersey as their main place of residence for at least six months
-Be over the age of 18; and
-Have a household income of less than £40,000 per year.
Because there are a greater number of people applying for affordable housing than homes currently available, accommodation is only made available to the following groups of people:
-Households that include a member with medical conditions or physical or mental disabilities who require special types of housing that cannot be provided by the private sector;
-Households with young children, and on a relatively low income; and
-Households over 50, and on a relatively low income
If a person is assessed as being eligible for affordable housing, they will be placed on a waiting list managed by the Gateway. When an Affordable Housing provider such as Andium Homes or a housing trust has a property available, they will allocate the property to a person based on their housing need and the time they have been on the waiting list.
To determine who is made an offer, the Gateway uses a banding system to prioritise applicants according to their housing need.
Bands 1- 4 reflect the need for rented accommodation, and Band 5 reflects demand for affordable homes to buy with some form of assistance. If applying for rented accommodation, applicants in Bands 1 and 2 are considered to have the most urgent need for accommodation and will be given highest priority on the waiting list.
An application form can be downloaded here:
For more information about applying for affordable housing visit:
http://www.gov.je/home/rentingbuying/applicationallocation/Pages/index.aspx
Affordable home purchase schemes (formerly known as States Loans’)
The States offers support to people who wish to buy their own home but require some form of assistance to do so.
If you are a first time buyer, you can apply to Band 5 of the Affordable Housing Gateway, which will place you on a waiting list to access affordable home purchase schemes.
Affordable home purchase schemes currently available to people registered on Band 5 include the Andium Homes Homebuy scheme:
http://www.andiumhomes.je/findahome/Pages/AndiumHomebuy.aspx
Who are Andium Homes and the Housing Trusts?
Andium Homes is a States-owned company that was formed in July 2014. It was formerly the Housing Department. Andium Homes operates outside of the States of Jersey organisation. The company now owns the properties and manages the tenancy agreements that were administered by the Housing Department before.
For more details about Andium Homes, including affordable housing, see the website: www.andiumhomes.je
The Housing Trusts are non profit-making organisations which provide secure accommodation for people who find it difficult to buy or rent properly at market values. The Housing Trusts own the properties and manage the tenancies of the people they offer rental accommodation to through the Affordable Housing Gateway.
Social Housing accomodation (11.1.17)
Affordable housing rents
All affordable housing rents are generally charged at 90% of rent that would be charged for an equivalent property type in the private sector.
Affordable housing tenants who need help with their rent may be entitled to receive Income Support. You can find out more information on rents on the Income Support website:
http://www.gov.je/benefits/incomesupport/pages/rates.aspx
