Hazards found in 40% of inspected rental homes

Inspectors found 40% of the rented properties in Jersey they visited at random last year had at least one fault which could be a hazard to tenants.

A government report reviewing the first year of the new landlord licensing scheme revealed officials chose to inspect more than 200 homes where the landlord had asked for a licence.

In the 12 months to the end of April they found 60% were passed as suitable, but the rest each had between one and nine faults.

Mould and damp were the most common problems, as well as fire and electrical hazards.

Inspectors also visited more than 100 properties which had received complaints from tenants.

They found 748 issues across those sites, also largely down to damp, fire and electrical problems.

The report comes just after the states decided against voting on the housing minister's plans to re-write the residential tenancy laws, which he had claimed would improve the rights of tenants and landlords.

Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [email protected].