Increase in housing applications

The time to process a housing inquiry has doubled

There has been a large rise in the number of people applying to live in Guernsey.

Short-term housing licence applications have increased by 40% in just two years.

The increase has left the Housing Authority struggling to cope and the authority's Housing Control Section will be closed to callers on Wednesday afternoons in an attempt to clear the backlog.

Bosses say the series of closures should help staff work uninterrupted.

Although the number of applications has increased, there has not been any increase in staff in the control section.

That has meant the amount of time it takes process an inquiry has doubled from four to eight weeks.

The chief executive of the Housing Authority, Stephen Langford, said of the closure to callers that the time had come for a radical approach to the backlog problem and this idea should really help the situation.