Housing Law Policy

The Housing Regulations set out various methods of qualifying to purchase or lease property in the Island.

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Qualifying through a Period of Residence

The vast majority of people, 85% of the Island's total population, gain their qualifications through a period of residence. While a variety of detailed provisions exist, for example in relation to spouses and people who arrive in the Island as minors, the most common route to securing residential qualifications is an aggregated period of 10 years residence for persons born locally, or 13 years continuous residence for someone born outside the Island.

Sufficient evidence of residence must be presented to be granted qualifications; in the case of locally born individuals this will often be in the form of confirmation from the school, and in the case of non-locally born must include proof of place of residence and / or employment, ideally with evidence of a Social Security record also, for the whole of the 13 year period.

Non-locally born persons, with the exception of those with qualified parents who arrived prior to their 20th birthday, must also be aware that under current policy, qualifications once gained will nevertheless be lost for anything more than a single five year gap in residence.

More detail on the different requirements for qualifying can be found in the 'Fast Find' section below.

Qualifying due to Hardship, Essential Employment, or on the grounds of Economic or Social Benefit

In addition to qualifying through a period of residence, a minority of people qualify under Regulations 1(1)(g), 1(1)(j) and 1(1)(k). These relate to those classes of persons to whom the Housing Minister may consider granting a consent where it is considered that the applicant would suffer hardship, other than financial, if consent were not granted, where a person is essential employed and no local person can be found to fill the position, or where there is a proven economic and / or social benefit to the island, usually, in the form of being a high value resident.

The numbers qualifying via this route are small, for example, just 3% of the workforce is granted essential employee housing rights, and only a handful of people each year are granted consent due to hardship, or on economic or social grounds.

Qualifications through a Period of Residence

HOUSING REGULATIONS

Housing Regulations set out the criteria for recieving residential qualifications through a period of residence, and should be refered to for an authoratative account. However, the below represents a good introduction.

Regulation 1(1)(a)

This Regulation applies to a Jersey born person who has lived in the Island for a total aggregate period of ten years. Such persons can never lose their housing qualifications, irrespective of any absence from the Island.

Regulation 1(1)(b)

This Regulation applies to a person who owned or leased dwelling accommodation prior to the Housing Law coming into force in 1949, and who has remained resident in this accommodation. With the passage of time, this Regulation has become virtually extinct.

Regulation 1(1)(c)

This Regulation applies to individuals who owned or leased accommodation, the acquisition of which was a transaction exempt from the Housing Law, and who has remained resident in this accommodation. In the main, this would relate to property acquired from the Crown.

Regulation 1(1)(d)

This Regulation applies to persons who have already been granted a consent to purchase property, and have bought and occupied that property for the whole period commencing no later than six months from the date of the Population Office‚s consent. This applies to a spouse without residential qualifications in their own right, who purchased property in joint names with their qualified spouse prior to 11 October 1995, who is then permitted to purchase or lease alternative property in their own name. This Regulation does not apply to persons who obtained their previous consent under Regulations (g), (j), (k), (n) (i) or n (ii), or to unqualified spouses who purchased jointly with a person qualifying under Regulations (g), (j) or (k).

Regulation 1(1)(e)

This Regulation applies to a person who has rented property with the Population Office‚s consent for a continuous period of at least ten years, immediately prior to an application to purchase. It also applies to persons who have been in essential employment under Regulation (j) for a continuous period of ten years, on completion of which they qualify under this Regulation in their own right to lease or purchase property.

Regulation 1(1)(f)

This Regulation applies to a person who has achieved thirteen years continuous residence in the Island. Having established this period of residence, they may purchase or lease property in the Island.

Regulation 1(1)(h)

This Regulation applies to a non-Jersey born child of a residentially qualified parent, who has commenced residence in the Island prior to their twentieth birthday, and completes a total aggregate period of ten years residence in the Island.

Regulation 1(1)(l)

The Population Office will grant consent under this Regulation to an Association incorporated by the States and approved by the Queen in Council. Likewise, a Trust created on application to the Royal Court or an Association incorporated on application to the Royal Court. The purpose of the Trust or Association must relate to sport, the arts, religion, education, charity or public utility, and the Population Office may attach local occupancy conditions to any consent granted.

Regulation 1(1)(m)

This Regulation requires the Department to grant consent to a recognised religious body seeking to purchase or contract lease residential property. Again, there may be conditions attached to any consent granted under this Regulation.

Regulation 1(1)(n)

This Regulation applies to non-residentially qualified spouses who join in the purchase or contract lease of property with their qualified spouse, and who will attain qualifications in their own right having completed ten years residence in the Island, living in a shared unit of accommodation with their qualified spouse, as man and wife.

IMPORTANT NOTE - FIVE YEAR BREAK RULE

Any person whose qualification is dependent on maintaining continuous residence in the Island, is entitled to leave the Island for one single period of up to five years without losing their residential qualifications. Should a person leave the Island for more than five years, they will automatically lose their residential status.

Essential Employment 1(1)(J)

1. Regulation 1(1)(j)

1.1 Regulation 1(1)(j) states that the Minister shall grant consent where the Minister is satisfied that the intending purchaser, transferee, or lessee either is, or will be essentially employed and consent can, in the best interest of the community, be justified.

1.2 Under this Regulation, the Minister has discretion to grant consent to essential employees to purchase or rent property, or to require such employees to be housed in accommodation owned or leased by their employers.

1.3 Along with Regulation 1(1)(g), this Regulation involves the exercise of considerable discretion on the part of the Minister. The Minister has to be consistent in his decisions and has to bear in mind the effect of his decisions on his duty to prevent further aggravation of the housing shortage.

1.4 The main criteria against which the Minister considers each application are as follows:-

(i) the contribution made to the Island by the employer - eg in terms of tax revenues, service provided, etc;

(ii) the significance of the post in question to the achievement of that contribution;

(iii) the track record of the employer in the recruitment and training of local people;

(iv) evidence that there is not a satisfactory local candidate for the post in question.

1.5 Once an employee is granted a consent under this Regulation, he is permitted to occupy property, normally owned or leased by his employer, which is classified as available to persons qualifying under Regulation 1(1)(j).

1.6 Where an employee completes a continuous period of ten years' essential employment in the Island under this Regulation, the Housing Minister accepts that employee as having residential status in their own right under Regulation 1(1)(e). His status is no longer dependent on his continued essential employment, but residential qualifications will be lost if he should emigrate, subject to the „five year break‰ rule. The non qualified spouse of an approved 1(1)(j) category employee also qualifies at the same time.

1.7 The child of a person qualifying under Regulation 1(1)(j) is granted residential status in their own right once an aggregate period of ten years residence has been completed which must commence prior to their twentieth birthday and is subject to the parent(s) remaining qualified during the time in which the requisite period of residence is completed.

1.8 In relation to the length of a 1(1)(j) consent, the Housing Minister has adopted the following policy ˆ

All posts which meet the j category consent criteria, as noted below, where the employer is well established, and which require extensive knowledge and experience, be granted an unlimited j category consent on commencement. All posts which meet the j category consent criteria, as noted, below, and are required for a specific purpose or time limited period, or where the employer is a new start up, be granted a time limited j category consent All existing consents that meet the above criteria be treated as above, either when the employer seeks an extension, or 18 months prior to expiry.

2. Properties

2.1 Approved essential employees are only permitted to occupy accommodation which is not specifically restricted to persons with local residential qualifications. Occupation conditions are imposed on properties at the time of a transaction. With individual residential properties, under current policy any property having a sale price in excess of £250,000 is automatically categorised as being available for persons under Regulation 1(1)(a)-(j), under that figure restricted to 1(1)(a)-(h). With the development of multiple units such as flats and apartments, occupancy conditions are established at the time of development, and are carried forward through subsequent sales.

2.2 The purpose of differentiating between 1(1)(a)-(h) and 1(1)(a)-(j) properties is to offer a degree of protection to the locally qualified market against the higher purchasing powers of the 1(1)(j) category sector. In addition, on development land the imposition of 1(1)(a)-(h) conditions for newly created property should act as an encouragement to the developer to provide more modest dwellings than would otherwise be provided if all accommodation was classified to include 1(1)(j) category. As a concession Nurses and Teachers, being by definition generally lower paid of the essentially employed categories are entitled to occupy 1(1)(a)-(h) accommodation.

Essential Employee purchase of property

Occupation of Property by approved Essential Employees

The Housing Minister's policy to date requires that any approved 1(1)(j) employee must be housed in accommodation either leased or purchased in the employer‚s name.

The Minister has now reviewed and decided to change his policy in relation to property that has been, or will in the future, be purchased in order to house such an employee.

It has been agreed that approved essential employees will be able to occupy property owned by a company, that company being beneficially owned by the employee for the duration of that employee‚s full time employment for which consent has been granted. In order to avoid conflict with the current Housing Regulations it will be necessary in all cases for an undertaking to be completed by the employee in order for the company to be granted consent to acquire any specific property.

Where an existing essential employee occupies a property purchased by the employer in the trading company‚s name, any purchase/transfer to the employee‚s company would take place as above.

Where a separate holding company has been formed in order to purchase individual separate properties, the employer will need to request a formal revised consent to the original acquisition of the property seeking the consent of the Minister to transfer the shares to the employee. The employee must also complete an undertaking enabling additional conditions to be imposed on the revised consent issued.

High value Resident 1(1)(k)

Regulation 1(1)(k)

Regulation 1(1)(k) (The Wealthy Immigrant Provisions) stipulates that consent to purchase or lease property shall be granted where „the Minister is satisfied that consent can be justified on social and economic grounds‰.

Currently, there is no prescribed limit on the number of 1(1)(k) consents which can be granted each year, although in practice the number tends to be relatively small. Each application is considered on its own merits but, in making its decision, the Minister will have regard to factors such as;

1. The individual‚s contribution to tax revenues; 2. The business/social background of the applicant, and the benefit that could arise for Jersey as a result of him/her taking up residence in the Island; 3. Any other general benefits which the Island may obtain if the applicant takes up residence in the Island.

All applications for (1)(1)(k) status should be made through Mr Nigel Philpott, Director - High Value Residency, who can offer a wide range of advice and assistance to any potential applicants, and can assist on practical issues that may arise when considering relocating to the Island. He can be contacted by telephone on +44(0)1534 448830, or mobile 07797 741017, or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it