01: Am I able to buy or rent a property in Jersey? Housing Law
The Housing Regulations set out various methods of qualifying to purchase or lease property in the Island.
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, mainly being:
â¬10 years aggregated residence for persons born locally, or
â¬11 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 usually be in the form of confirmation from the school, and in the case of non-locally born persons must include proof of place of residence and / or employment, ideally with confirmation of a Social Security record.
Non-locally born persons - with the exception of those with qualified parents who arrived prior to their 20th birthday -will lose their qualifications if they move away from the Island for more than 5 years, or more than once.
More detail on qualifying, including how spouses qualify, for example, can be found in the gov.je website.
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 by other means, whether due to:
â¬hardship, other than financial, that would be suffered
â¬essential employment, and no local person can be found to fill the position, or
â¬proven economic and / or social benefit, 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.
Contact the States of Jersy Housing Dept or visit their website
http://www.gov.je/ for further information
