In July 2011 the States approved the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 201- (the “Law”). The Law, which is expected to come into force in the Summer of 2012, is the culmination of years of detailed policy-making and consultation since the States approved its Migration Policy in 2005.
The purpose of the Law, as its preamble puts it, is “to establish a registration process for residents of Jersey and to make provision for the control of work and housing”. Essentially, the Law provides a single statute, replacing the Housing (Jersey) Law 1949 and the Regulation of Undertakings and Development (Jersey) Law 1973, to regulate the two issues which most directly impact upon the population of the Island, namely who can work here and who can live here.
The Law is a complex piece of legislation and the purpose of this article is just to highlight some of its key aspects insofar as the control of housing is concerned.