Housing Association Could Borrow Cash

A potential housing association, as proposed by the Chief Minister, would be free to ‘access funding streams’ outside of the gov.

The DoI is exploring the possibility of developing a housing association to manage its stock, which currently stands at 1,200 homes.

A housing association owned by the gov but operated at arm’s length (like Manx Care) and CoMin believes it could provide a number of benefits through separating the operational concerns of delivering day-to-day solutions for the community from housing strategy and policy.

A statement said: ‘An association would be free to access funding streams outside Government and, alongside a coherent and robust business plan, able to focus on national priorities. These may include the provision of key worker housing, subsidised packages for young families and first-time buyers, or new initiatives for those who need more support such as the elderly, homeless or those leaving the care system.

‘While work takes place to draw out the specific benefits, taking the process any further would firstly involve communication and consultation with stakeholders.’

The DoI says that local authorities have an ‘important role to play in this area and the department would seek their views on how joining or forming a housing association may or may not work for their specific communities’. 

Local authority housing is owned by each authority, or rather by the people of that parish, village, town or in Douglas’ case a ‘city’.

Minister Tim Crookall said: ‘This is the start of an exercise to assess the suitability of a housing model which works well elsewhere, and may play an important role in delivering the aims of Our Island Plan.

‘The topic will be the focus of a session at this week’s Isle of Man Government Conference and I encourage people to join us at the Villa Marina on Thursday afternoon to both find out more and to take part in a question-and-answer panel session.’

The Chief Minister recently visited Jersey to see how their model works, while house prices and rentals on that island are even higher than here, Andium Homes, Jersey’s largest provider of affordable housing, lists the cheapest available property to rent (as of this morning) at £734.35 a month for a studio apartment on the seventh floor of a tower block.