More people now eligible for public sector housing

40 minutes ago

Emma DraperLocal Democracy Reporter

News image — Douglas has the largest proportion of public sector housing on the island

DAVE KNEALE An aerial view of Douglas which shows the sweep of the promenade and the bay. — Douglas has the largest proportion of public sector housing on the island

The amount people can earn before applying for social housing on the Isle of Man has increased.

The threshold for both single and joint applications has risen to plug the gap created by rises in the cost of living.

A single person with no children can now earn £35,800 - up by £1,500 - and still apply for public sector housing. While a couple with three children can now earn £63,900 - a rise of £13,400 on the previous limit.

The government said the new rules "better reflect current earnings and housing costs" and would see more people eligible to qualify for public sector housing.

Annual inflation linked rises to the earnings thresholds will be applied in future, to make sure the eligibility criteria keeps pace with wage increases.

The changes, which were approved by Tynwald members in July, also give local authorities more discretionary powers to allocate housing based on need.

The Department of Infrastructure said those measures would "address exceptional housing circumstances, which cannot be universally legislated for".

Devon Watson, who has short brown hair and a beard, and is wearing a blue suit, standing next to an information board about James Brown — Devon Watson opened the council's latest social housing block in Willaston, named after former newspaper editor James Brown, in March

Welcoming the changes, Douglas Council leader Devon Watson said it was a "fantastic step forward in terms of increasing the eligibility for housing".

However, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service there was still a need for more to be done to expand the number of properties available.

"Currently, we've got a lot of people who are in social housing who are also in desperate need of transfers because they're in homes that are currently not suitable for them," he said.

"They compete with new people on the list and every single person who gets allocated housing at the moment, more often than not, is in absolutely desperate need.

"Adding more people to that list without expanding out that stock of social housing is entirely insufficient," he said, adding he was "super keen" to work with the government to build "a lot more social housing".

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