AREA
GUIDES FOR THE UK COUNTRY PROPERTY MARKET
JERSEY IN THE CHANNEL ISLANDS
To live in Jersey in the Channel Islands
is a pure delight.
Welcome to Jersey – the most southerly
island of the British Isles. Located some 100 miles (160km)
south of mainland Britain yet only 14 miles from the coast
of France, Jersey provides the visitor with a kaleidoscope
of sensory stimuli.
Despite its small size – Jersey
measures just nine miles by five -- all your senses are
made to work overtime in this tiny island.
It might be thought that an area of
forty-five square miles with a permanent population of
something over 85,000 would have little but buildings
to explore. But approach the island by air and you see
lush valleys, well-kept fields and an unspoilt coastline.
Arrive by sea and the rocky grandeur of La Corbiere, the
sweep of St. Aubin’s Bay and picturesque Elizabeth
Castle set the scene for a grand encounter with a small
but delightful island whose variety of scenery, wealth
of history and sheer beauty compete with much larger and,
perhaps, better-known destinations.
The sea dominates the landscape with
views of the surrounding Atlantic Ocean accessible from
virtually every point on the island. The coastline also
offers infinite variety – majestic cliffs, exposed
bays, sandy beaches and rocky coves are all immediately
accessible by road or on foot and just a few minutes’
drive from any community. Due to Jersey’s unique
position in the Bay of St. Malo the island grows and shrinks
twice a day as the tide ebbs and flows in excess of 40
feet - one of the highest tidal ranges in the world.
Thanks to its roots in medieval Norman
history, Jersey has inherited a unique community management
and policing systems that is proving remarkably effective
even in the 21st century.
Jersey is divided into 12 parishes,
all having access to the sea. The core of parish affairs
is still based on the principle of unpaid service to the
community. The civil head of the parish is the Constable
(Connetable) who, once elected to the role, gives his
or her time for free. The title stems from the French
term Conte de L’Etable or Count of the Stable and
reflects their task of helping the King’s Court move
around France and ensuring fresh horses were ready for
the royal entourage.
Accessibility & Surrounding Areas
Some 450 miles of roadway (comprising
a mix of fast roads and small country lanes) create endless
opportunities to explore and discover the unexpected and
impressive. Jersey also has a network of over 46 miles
of Green Lanes where a speed limit of 15 mph is imposed
and priority to given to walkers, cyclists and horse riders
There are a number of airlines offering
regular scheduled service from the UK and a range of tour
operators also organise charter flights to Jersey from
a wider selection of airports and often at highly competitive
rates. Condor Ferries operate a car and passenger service
from the south coast of England to St Helier. You can
choose to travel by fast car-carrying catamaran or the
more leisurely, but comprehensively equipped, conventional
car ferry.
Buying In Jersey / Residential Requirements
The Housing Law of 1949 established
the Housing Committee "to administer matters relating
to the housing of the population". The following
should is only a summary guide and you are advised to
seek legal advice before proceeding with a purchase. You
can find the official text at the Housing Department site.
In general terms you should either:
Be Jersey born and have lived here for
10 years (Regulation 1(1)a)
Have been continuously resident in Jersey
for a minimum of 16 years. (Regulation 1(1)f)
Be "essentially employed"
in the Island (e.g. Doctor, Teacher or some such professional
person) providing that you can satisfy the Housing Committee
that Jersey is in need of a similarly qualified person
at the time of your application. (Regulation 1(1)j)
Seek residential status under social
or economic grounds. Roughly translated, you should be
able to satisfy the Committee that you will make a major
contribution to the Island's tax revenues. From the many
enquiries made under this category less than ten consents
are granted each year. (Regulation 1(1)k)
However...... If you are a recognised
religious body, you may be successful if you apply under
Regulation 1(1)m and please note the emphasis on the word
"recognised".
For further information contact:
The Housing Department,
P.O. Box 587,
Jubilee Wharf,
Castle Street,
St. Helier, Jersey JE4 8XT
Tel: +44 or 0 - 1534 884422
Fax: +44 or 0 - 1534 884488
Jersey Lowers the Drawbridge
September 23, 2005
A change to the island's restrictive residency policy
means that its property market is now more 'open for business',
as Country Life discovers
For years, Jersey has been perceived
as somewhere where only the very rich, or the very famous—among
them racing-drivers Nigel Mansell and Derek Warwick, and
golfer Ian Woosnam—were welcome to pitch their tents.
Stringent residency qualifications—based on the issue
of '1(1) K' licences to a handful of carefully screened,
rich individuals —were designed to ensure that only
the most desirable members of the international community
could buy into the island's small stock of high-value
properties.
It was a restrictive policy which has worked all too well
in recent years, for out of a total population of 89,000,
only 155 Jersey residents currently hold the coveted '1(1)K'
residency qualification. Now the authorities have relaxed
the rules in order to boost the island's economy by increasing
the intake of well heeled residents from the UK and Europe.
Better late than never, say Jersey's leading estate agents,
relieved that the island can finally be seen to be genuinely
'open for business'.
Historically, Jersey's Draconian immigration
and residency laws were inspired not by xenophobia, but
by the need to conserve the island's limited stock of
residential property, when, following the end of the Second
World War, a sudden influx of new residents sent house
prices soaring. In order to prevent further dramatic price
increases and the possibility of there being insufficient
residential property available for future generations
of local people, the States introduced the Housing (Jersey)
Law, 1949. A further wave of newcomers in the late 1960s
prompted more regulation, as a result of which every sale
or lease of land in the island must have the prior consent
of the Housing Committee.
But contrary to popular belief, the
criteria for granting 1(1)K licences have never been absolutely
fixed: each application has been considered on its individual
merits, and 'deals' negotiated on a one-to-one basis.
A general rule of thumb, however,
was that prospective residents should be able to show
an annual income sufficient to produce about £150,000
in tax revenues for the island, based on Jersey's current
standard rate of 20% (unchanged since 1940). That requirement
has now been lowered to £100,000, corresponding
to an annual income of about £500,000.
Stringent checks to verify both the
applicant's net worth and the source of his wealth are
an essential part of the vetting process. Not unexpectedly,
residents accorded 1(1)K status can only buy and occupy
properties which are also classified 1(1)K. Currently,
such properties range in value from about £1 million
to about £7m, with one or two of the most prestigious
secretly on the market for well in excess of that.
Discretion is the better part of everything
in Jersey, and prospective purchasers drawn to the island
not just for its benign tax regime, but by the quality
of life in this tranquil, crime-free island, may be surprised
to find few of the island's most expensive properties
openly for sale.
One of Jersey's longest-serving estate
agents with 40 years' experience of dealing with the island's
most exclusive properties, and he knows of at least 30
1(1)K houses which could be bought at the right price—of
which only about half a dozen are currently being promoted
on the open market.
With no more than nine or 10 classic
manor houses to be found in the whole of Jersey, the sale
of elegant Dielament Manor in the parish of Trinity, in
the island's north-east corner, represents, in Mr Wilson's
view, a rare opportunity to buy 'one of the island's premier
homes'. The manor house stands at the end of a quarter-mile-long,
tree-lined drive, surrounded by 24 acres of grassland,
woodland and lawned gardens with a tennis court and a
swimming pool. Remodelled in rendered granite round a
much older building, the house has been impeccably maintained
by its English owners, who have lived there for the best
part of 20 years. It has four reception rooms, six bedrooms
and five bathrooms, plus a number of traditional outbuildings,
including a colombier to further underline its manorial
status. Guide price of £3.75m.
A similar guide price for secluded Beauvoir
in St Saviour parish, a few miles south of Trinity: a
classical Regency house dating from the mid 1800s, it
has been home to another English family for the past eight
years. It stands in several acres of wooded parkland,
and has light, well-proportioned rooms including a drawing
room, a dining room, a library/snooker room, a family
room, a kitchen/breakfast room, six bedrooms, four bathrooms,
a staff flat and a two-bedroom guest cottage.
By contrast, the Domaine de St Laurent
at Les Charrières Nicolle, in the central parish
of St Lawrence, is described as 'a stunning modern residence'.
Built in the 1990s of Jersey granite in a remodelling
of a fairly ordinary 1960s house, it stands in a wonderfully
private setting at the end of a long drive, surrounded
by some 10 acres of picturesque woodland grounds and gardens,
with glorious views over the surrounding countryside.
The sumptuous accommodation includes five opulent reception
rooms, six bedroom suites and a spectacular pool and leisure
complex. It is on the market at £3.95m.
Meanwhile, over in St Ouen parish on
Jersey's eastern flank, traditionalists will be charmed
by the delightful Maison de la Ruette, an exquisite 17th-century
granite farmhouse, painstakingly transformed by its present
owner from a virtual wreck to a supremely tasteful, rambling,
family home, using only authentic rustic materials. Approached
off a little-used bye-lane, the house stands in a peaceful
rural setting surrounded by landscaped gardens and farmland.
It has three main reception rooms, a kitchen/breakfast
room, a family room, five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a
sun terrace, a wine store and a large studio/hobby room.
Guide price of £1.95m.
DEGREVEMENT DEFINED
One legitimate way to bypass Jersey's
stringent residency requirements is to buy a so-called
'dégrèvement property', that is, a residential
property taken, prior to June 9, 1993, by a Jersey-based
limited company in settlement of a debt under a court
order.
A purchaser who does not hold the normal
residency qualifications can then acquire the freehold
of the property by buying all the shares in the holding
company, and will be entitled to live in the property
for as long as he wishes.
However, such occupancy does not confer
a right to full Jersey residency, and should the new owner
wish to move, he would be entitled to sell, but should
he wish to buy again, he could only replace it with another
'dégrèvement' property.
Source: Country Life
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