Social Housing Tenant Describes Property as “Nightmare” Amid Maintenance Issues

A social housing tenant has characterized her living situation in her property as a “nightmare,” citing substantial long-term maintenance problems. Amber Furby, who has resided in States housing in St Saviour for six years, stated that the government’s inadequate property maintenance is negatively impacting her family’s quality of life. Peter Roffey, President of Employment and Social Security (ESS), indicated he was unable to comment on specific cases but confirmed he has sought increased funding in the 2025 budget for the upkeep of social housing. Ms. Furby expressed her desire for her children “not to worry about plants growing through their walls or sharing rooms with woodlouse,” adding, “I don’t want to live like this.” She further stated that the situation is “embarrassing,” explaining, “I don’t like having people around, I don’t like having guests as I don’t like people to see how I live.” Mr. Roffey acknowledged that the States’ performance as a landlord falls short of expectations. Ms. Furby reported that problems with the property became apparent approximately six months after she took up residence. She recounted, “We noticed there was salting on the walls, wet floors, a lot of the windows and doors were leaking.” Earlier this year, contractors who visited the house for maintenance departed without completing the work, leaving some floors cracked, which prevented the installation of new flooring, she noted. Ms. Furby stated, “I can’t repair broken walls, broken windows. I can’t seal windows that were never finished.” She also voiced concerns regarding the prolonged duration required to complete maintenance work on States properties. According to Ms. Furby, “Sometimes I’ll have three separate members of staff coming to see what you’re complaining about before getting the work done.” She added that despite claims, “They say all the work here has been completed, but it hasn’t.” Six years prior, Ms. Furby relocated from a two-bedroom social house located at the Genats housing estate, which is currently designated for redevelopment. Her move to St Saviour was prompted by an increase in her family’s size. She remarked, “If I had a choice I’d have stayed in my small house down at the Genats estate and made it work.” Ms. Furby described her current living situation as “awful for my quality of life,” stating, “the state of this house is like living in a literal nightmare. There’s nothing I can do to make it nice.” She expressed a desire to “put floors down, I want to decorate my kids rooms, I want to make sure there isn’t wind and rain blowing through their windows.” Policy and Resources (P&R) proposals had indicated that ESS should receive slightly less than £7 million for social housing maintenance in 2025. Mr. Roffey has requested an additional £670,000 beyond the maintenance budget allocated to his committee. He commented, “I don’t think we are maintaining our stock as well as I would like.” Mr. Roffey highlighted “the very embarrassing situation where we can’t even afford to put down floor coverings when people leave and leave their houses with bare floors.” He added, “Very often some of the poorest families in Guernsey have to move in with no floor coverings.” Mr. Roffey further stated that he would be “embarrassed” if his proposed amendment fails, as he considers the current circumstances “unacceptable.”