Housing residency appeals shake-up to make hardship cases easier - Jersey Evening Post

by · Jersey Evening Post

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Housing residency appeals shake-up to make hardship cases easier

by Lacey Le Boutillier 6 August 20266 August 2026

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Credit: Robbie Dark

ISLANDERS facing exceptional hardship while waiting to qualify for full residential status will soon have an easier route to appeal government decisions, the Housing Minister has confirmed.

The changes, due to come into force in September, follow cases such as that of hospitality worker Stefanos Andreasis, who has lived in Jersey for more than nine years but is now homeless after the studio he rented was damaged by a fire.

Mr Andreasis is just months away from qualifying for entitled residential status after ten years’ continuous residency, but has appealed for an exceptional hardship decision which would allow him to receive that status early.

At present, hardship applications are decided under the existing process, with appeals ultimately going to the Royal Court.

However, Housing Minister Malcolm Ferey said the law will change next month so that hardship cases can instead be considered by a panel, making the appeal process “far easier” to access.

“An individual personal situation can make an application, and that can be done through the Control of Housing and Work team at Government of Jersey, and those individual cases will be considered in the round,” the minister said.

“There is a mechanism that will allow those cases to be individually considered.”

Deputy Fery added: “The route to appeal as it currently stands is to the Royal Court, and this is why the legislation has changed to make that route to appeal far easier for people to access through a panel rather than just through one individual.

“Things will be changing for the better, but even as it is now, there is a very robust mechanism to allow people to make an application for a change.”

Mr Andreasis, who is currently sleeping on a friend’s sofa after losing his home, said he hopes an exceptional decision could help him rebuild his life. Read more on P5.

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