Party Policies

 
 

HOUSING

Creation of an Office of Housing Ombudsman

The Green Party supports the creation of an independent ombudsman to be given powers to:

a.      interpret Manx housing-related laws,

b.      adjudicate the health and safety aspects related to all rented housing, and to

c.      adjudicate landlord-tenant disputes for all housing,

d.      offer proposals on clarifying laws and regulations to achieve equitable housing standards for all tenants.

Renters Deposit Protection Scheme

The Green Party support the introduction of a rental deposit protection scheme, modelled on the legislation in the United Kingdom.  Landlords and estate/rental agents would not be permitted to hold deposits.  The Housing Ombudsman would hold the deposits and adjudicate any disputes regarding deposit forfeiture between the landlord and tenant.

Housing Purchase Restrictions & Unoccupied Tax

In order to improve the availability and cost of housing in the Isle of Man, the Green Party supports the imposition of the following restrictions on the purchase and sale of residential properties of less than £500,000 (indexed, based on the average island residential sales price in the previous 12 months):

  1. Buy-to-let purchases of new single-family homes will be prohibited.

  2. New housing designated as affordable may only be purchased by Manx resident or tax domiciled persons.

    Non-tax-domiciled persons will not be allowed to purchase more than a single residential property that must be for personal use.

Vacant & Dilapidated Housing

To improve the availability of housing and to address the number of vacant and dilapidated housing that blight the island, the Green Party calls for any house that sits unoccupied for more than 12 weeks in a year to incur an unoccupied tax.  In the event of long term dilapidated and inhabited properties, the Green Party calls for powers for habitation improvement notices to require the owners to bring them to habitable standard or risk a compulsory purchase order.

Energy Performance Certificates

To aid and incentivise the improvement to energy performance of properties in the Isle of Man, the Green Party calls the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates for all residential and commercial properties for sale or rent.  To be introduced over time, starting with residential rental properties.

Building Regulations

Houses are still being built in the Isle of Man that are substantially less energy efficient and more carbon intensive than is appropriate given the climate emergency and the astronomical increase in energy costs.

In order to build houses that are fit for a low carbon future and to reduce costs for owners and tenants, the Green Party calls for the aligning of Isle of Man building regulations with the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations 2019. These Regulations provide equivalent levels of efficiency to Passive House / Nearly Zero Energy Buildings for new builds and retrofits.  Additionally, the current requirement for SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) calculations on new builds to be replaced with PHPP (Passive House Planning Package) calculations.

Gazumping

The Green Party calls for an improvement of consumer protections in the purchase and sale of residential properties, to better provide protections in the event of buyers or sellers reneging on property purchases.  The Green Party proposes that this is facilitated by:-

  1. Requiring estate agents to produce, at the seller’s expense, a seller’s pack containing:

    1. Valuation and survey reports.

    2. Land registry information.

    3. Searches information.

Information contained within this pack will be valid for a period of 180 days at which time the valuation report will need to be revisited. This pack will be provided free of charge to any interested parties prior to any offer being made on the property.

  1. Once a purchase price has been agreed between a buyer and a seller, the parties enter a legally enforceable contract agreeing that the property may no longer be offered for sales to any other party.

  1. If either party is unable to complete the purchase for reasons not set out in the contract, then the aggrieved party is entitled to damages for losses incurred.