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A version of Jersey's Andium Homes could be launched in Guernsey as E&I tries to figure out a way of breathing life and urgency into private housing developments.
The Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure says it is concerned at the lack of progress with some private developments despite planning permission being given for hundreds of new homes in different areas across the island.
Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez said there is clearly a problem and they want to fix it.
"There's a very distinct gap between the number of planning permissions that have been granted and the number of developments that have been completed, or the number of units of new accommodation and new homes for people that have actually been completed," she said.
"This really points to a problem and we need to understand what is or what are the factors causing that gap, because obviously we do need as many homes, both private and affordable as possible and if there are barriers in the way of that, we need to understand what they are and what we can do about them."
One idea E&I are exploring to try and stimulate private market housing development is the creation of a States-owned "delivery vehicle for housing developments".
This could be similar to how either Andium Homes or the Jersey Development Company work in Jersey.
No decisions have been made yet but E&I said it "could open up opportunities for the States to develop specific types, sizes or tenures of housing that are not being delivered through private developers".
Pictured: Deputy Lindsey de Sausmarez.
"I have to start this by saying I am not the expert in this area, but this was flagged to us as a potential solution in a big report that we undertook a year and a bit ago," said Deputy de Sausmarez.
That report was produced by consultants arc4 Limited.
"They've done a lot of work in comparable jurisdictions, including Jersey and the Isle of Man, and they're based in the UK but they're familiar with housing models in other places as well and they're really, really knowledgeable housing specialists who understand the Guernsey contexts," said Deputy de Sausmarez.
"They did two reports - one was on the problem identification, and one was on the solutions. They spent a lot of time talking with stakeholders, including developers, and estate agents, and tenants, and all sorts of different stakeholders to really get a good feel for Guernsey's housing markets and this was something that came up in the solutions report, and it is very interesting.
"I don't want to be too specific because there are lots of different ways that it could work but essentially, if we take it back to why we've included it in this, if we look at the fact that there are more planning permissions than there are completions, and if some of the barriers relate to the fact that there aren't the right kind of vehicles to deliver those units of new accommodation, then this is something that could potentially fill that gap."
Lisa de Kooker, The States of Guernsey's Head of Housing and Infrastructure agreed that it is an idea that needed investigating.
"I think it's just we just need to look at what other jurisdictions do and to see what works there and what doesn't work there and if there is something which we can translate.
"In an ideal world, we would want private developers to develop the private market, and that's still absolutely the intention and it's quite probably the case that there are other barriers that are preventing private market developers from coming forward, but this is really where there are particular tenures that might not be easy to deliver with the current setup at the moment, and so we can look at whether there's a sort of States owned delivery vehicle that specialises in delivering those kinds of things that the market isn't delivering."
Ms de Kooker and Deputy de Sausmarez both hope there will be more information available to publish this summer, which could move the idea forward.
There would be States funding involved if the idea is progressed because housing is an income generator, and it wouldn't conflict with what the Guernsey Housing Association is already doing.
Andium Homes says it is Jersey's largest provider of affordable housing, being responsible for more than 4,700 properties housing more than 10,000 people.
Pictured: Andium Homes website.
It is wholly States-owned, but is an independent company with its own Board of Directors.
"Andium Homes is flexible, able to react swiftly to the changing needs of our clients," its website says.
"We are committed to maintaining consistent financial strength and stability as a company enabling us to keep investing in the future as well as continuing to make a substantial return to the States of Jersey."
Deputy de Sausmarez said such schemes work well elsewhere too which is why they're keen to explore how it could work here.
That work is being done in conjunction with arc4 - a consultancy team of experts in the housing sector who compile research and data to produce advisory reports.
Commonly known as the JDC, the Jersey Development Company is "the Government of Jersey's regeneration arm".
Pictured: The Jersey Development Company website.
It describes itself as "a delivery vehicle for major property development and mixed-use regeneration for the long-term benefit of the people of Jersey".
The JDC isn't just focused on residential property developments, with the remit for the development's of the St Helier Waterfront area under its control, along with an undertaking to regenerate surplus Government owned assets in Jersey.
The JDC has been responsible for building new office space in Jersey as well as homes, and it works by "investing in direct development, rather than selling land to developers, (to) ensure that returns to taxpayers are improved as well as retaining control over design and quality".
The JDC is run by an independent board without any political members and it is accountable to its shareholder, the Minister for Treasury and Resources.
The JDC moniker came about in 2011 when a new company was formed following a change of name and constitution of the Waterfront Enterprise Board. The WEB had been responsible for many of the developments along Jersey's St Helier seafront including the complex which is home to the cinema, KFC, Pizza Hut and other businesses.
arc4 has already carried out work for the States of Guernsey through the Guernsey Housing Plan.
In producing that report, arc4 created the Guernsey Housing Market Review And Problem Identification Report and theStrategic Interventions In The Guernsey Housing Market Report.
Pictured: The arc4 Limited website.
Deputy de Sausmarez said the arc4 team know the island, and other small jurisdictions too.
Now, E&I have asked arc4 to investigate why there is a disconnect between the number of developments given planning permission and the number of properties actually being built, so the Committee can come up with ways to stop it happening.
As part of its work, arc4 will analyse the current housing market and construction industry and speak to relevant parties such as developers and estate agents.
When the States produced the Strategic Housing Indicator (SSHI) a few years ago, it found that roughly 313 new units of housing should be built each year.
That could be via brand new developments, returning derelict properties to habitable standards, or redeveloping existing sites.
However, the island has consistently failed to meet the target set by the SSHI.
Ms de Kooker said across the private and 'affordable' housing sectors, the SSHI set a target of around 1,565 properties to be added to the island's housing stock over five years to meet the identified need at the time.
During last week's States meeting, Policy and Resources President, Deputy Lyndon Trott said only 96 residential units were added to the island's housing stock last year.
Deputy de Sausmarez said that has only added to the island's housing crisis.
"The fact that we have only achieved around a third of (the SSHI target) does indicate a problem.
"But what's even more worrying is that the SSHI was modelled on an assumption that there would be an inward migration of 300 people and we know that the real data is higher than that. So it's likely that the need is going to be even higher than what we're currently working to in terms of that indicator.
"We're going to be rerunning the indicator in the summer so we can get a more accurate understanding of where we're at."
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