Guernsey adds 'one affordable home in two years'

Guernsey added one affordable home to its housing stock between 2022 and 2024, according to a new report from the island's government.

It said in the previous eight years the island added 333 affordable homes, an average of more than 41 a year.

The island had 27,695 domestic properties at the end of 2024, including just over 1,600 open market properties, the report said.

Property developers had previously said the island's affordable housing policy was blocking development because of the added costs.

However, in 2024 the States voted to suspend the rule, known as GP11, for five years.

Employment and Social Security President Peter Roffey said: "Of course, we would've liked to have built many more affordable housing units during this term, but the pace of the programme has been affected by a number of factors outside our control."

Roffey said 72 affordable housing units had been built in the current political term and a further 29 were under construction.

He said housing development "by its nature takes time" but preparatory work undertaken in recent years "should allow for a major acceleration over the next few years".

The report said only 111 domestic properties were unoccupied in 2024, 0.4% of the total.

Guernsey created 142 new housing units in 2024, while 70 units were removed - an overall increase of 72 units.

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