States stalls on plan for housing deposit scheme

Guernsey will not have a government-regulated deposit scheme for private home rentals, despite calls from islanders.

The Committee for Housing announced in its work plan that it had decided "not to progress" a planned scheme in the hope a "functional solution" could be delivered by the housing industry.

However, Guernsey Deposits, an organisation set up to provide an industry-led scheme, said its solution was "ready to launch" but Guernsey's regulatory framework made it "commercially unviable".

Renter Kristyna Hudson said a scheme was badly needed after she battled to get her money back after the Sarnia Estate Agents collapsed.

Hudson said it took about a year to get her deposit back after Sarnia went bust.

"It was a pretty uncertain time and we weren't protected, there was no scheme to protect from anything like this happening," she said.

She said it was "really important" a government mandated deposit scheme was introduced.

"You're playing with people's futures, people's money," Hudson said.

The Committee for Housing said "additional protections" for landlords and tenants would be proposed while a deposit scheme solution was sought.

"People are saving for months for deposits and it can be gone in the blink of an eye, there's no security," she said.

She said the experience "was awful" and she found it "really surprising" the States was not carrying on with a deposit scheme.

The Committee for Housing said it would "prefer to avoid government intervention" if a private solution could be found.

Guernsey Deposits said it "remained keen" to launch but believed "tailored legislation for rental deposit schemes" would provide the framework for the scheme to operate.

Jeff Guilbert, of the Guernsey Private Residential Landlords Association, said "there was a lot of debate" whether the planned "mandatory deposit scheme was good or bad".

He said the proposed private solution had "been put in too difficult a box" due to the "small amounts" of money involved and the "amount of regulation needed".

Guilbert said Guernsey Deposits was "quite happy to do it at a very limited cost and input from the government".

"But now they've backed away because it's too paper top-heavy with red tape," he said.

Guilbert suggested a government-run but independent dispute resolution panel could be a solution "they could introduce tomorrow" to deal with landlord disputes.

The Committee for Housing has said if a private solution was not "forthcoming it would "consider progressing" the mandated deposit scheme at a later date.

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