Inspection and enforcement activities

WQ.215/2026

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR PLANNING AND REGULATION

BY DEPUTY L.V. FELTHAM OF ST. HELIER CENTRAL

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 12TH OCTOBER 2026

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 19TH OCTOBER 2026

Question

"In relation to inspection and enforcement activities carried out under the Public Heal th and Safety (Rented Dwellings) (Jersey) Law 2018, will the Minister advise –

1. the proportion of occupied and vacant full-time equivalent roles available for licensing, inspection and enforcement activities, and the proportion of staff time allocated to other regulatory and internal matters;
2. the number of inspections undertaken in 2026 to date, broken down by proactive inspections and inspections following complaints, as well as re-inspections;
3. the number of distinct dwellings inspected against the total number licensed;
4. how many cases are awaiting further action, broken down by assessed urgency, and what the target and actual response times are, including the longest outstanding wait for an inspection;
5. how proactive inspections are prioritised, the processes for identifying unlicenced and unsafe accommodation where no complaints have been made, and the impacts of staffing and funding constraints on planned activities; and
6. whether the current staffing and funding arrangements are adequate to deliver the inspection programme, respond promptly to urgent hazards and verify completed remedial works over the Winter 2026 to 2027 period, setting out the evidence to support that assessment and any actions planned to address identified shortfalls?"

Answer

1. The Directorate does not allocate fixed full-time equivalent posts solely to licensing, inspection and enforcement activities. Resources are deployed flexibly across statutory functions according to operational demand, risk and service priorities.

The Housing and Nuisance team currently has one vacant officer position, out of an FTE contingent of 10 posts. As officers undertake a range of regulatory functions, it is not possible to provide a meaningful breakdown of occupied and vacant posts solely against licensing, inspection and enforcement activities.

2. To date in 2026, officers have completed 683 housing inspections, of which 71 were intelligence-led or complaint-driven.
3. Since the introduction of the licensing scheme, officers have undertaken inspections of 1,607 licensed accommodation units. There are currently 17,951 active rented dwelling licences, meaning approximately 11% of licensed dwellings have been inspected. Although lodging houses fall outside the scope of the licensing scheme, officers have undertaken 150 lodging house inspections during the same period.
4. There are approximately 50 active housing cases under investigation. The Directorate's service standard is to respond to complaints within 10 working days, and all complaints have received an initial response within that timescale. There are currently no cases awaiting initial assessment or allocation.

Cases are prioritised according to risk. The Directorate does not routinely categorise cases into published urgency bands and does not hold a report showing response times by urgency category. All active cases have either been inspected or have an inspection scheduled where required. The Directorate does not hold data on the longest outstanding wait in a format that can be readily extracted.

5. Proactive inspections are prioritised using available intelligence and an assessment of potential risk to public health. Information regarding potentially unsafe or unlicensed accommodation is obtained through complaints,  referrals  from  partner  agencies,  wider  regulatory  activity  and  officer-led  investigations. Staffing and funding constraints limit the volume of proactive work that can be undertaken and the further development of supporting information systems.
6. The Directorate continues to deliver its inspection programme within existing staffing and funding arrangements. Current service standards are being met and all complaints are receiving an initial response within published timescales. Urgent hazards continue to be prioritised through a risk-based approach. Although staffing and funding constraints limit the scope for additional proactive activity and service development, the Directorate remains focused on maintaining frontline service delivery and responding to seasonal