How do we solve a problem like housing?

This blog was originally written for the Isle of Man Newspaper Letters page in April 2025 but they didn't bother publishing it - so we put it here instead.

This week (22 April) brought a rare win for the Government, transforming a decaying landmark into 37 new flats and breathing life back into a part of central Douglas through the MDC’s Thie Clag scheme.

Is it perfect? No. But the level of interest speaks volumes – with over 200 people registering for more information, it’s clear the public wants more of what government is renting out. Yet with demand vastly outstripping supply, the question needs to be asked – what happens next?

The housing crisis is an issue that this Tynwald has been slow to get to grips with. Promises made during the 2021 election campaign have largely been met with lukewarm action. The Chief Minister’s manifesto described a crisis point where, “Young adults are struggling to buy first time properties due both to lack of availability and cost and the rising cost of property is causing problems for anybody who for whatever reason finds themselves in need of a home purchase or rental” (his words not mine). 

But with just over a year left in this term, it’s hard to point to any meaningful progress or to see what concrete plans are in place to significantly improve the situation before the next election. There’s plans for a new housing board and pledges to support private landlords and developers to get back on it with new builds and better rental properties, but parliamentary time is running out, and schemes like the Housing Board won’t be fully operational until 2030.

That simply isn’t good enough for a crisis that requires urgent intervention. Right now, Manx people are being priced out of buying their first home, forced to pay over the odds for poor-quality private rentals, or left waiting on social housing lists.

Some argue that private developers hold the key to delivering the new homes we need. But it’s increasingly evident that the private sector is either unable or unwilling to build the type of housing people want, at prices they can afford.

With the private sector falling short, the responsibility falls squarely on Government and Tynwald members to take the lead – and get on with building the homes and flats themselves.

We have the power to set our own housing policy. So why not break away from a broken model and take inspiration from places that have got it right? Take Vienna, where social housing has shed its stigma and now provides high-quality, affordable homes for more than 60% of residents. These aren’t soulless tower blocks, they’re well-designed, mixed-income communities offering long-term tenancies, giving people security, dignity, and a genuine stake in their local area.

There’s no reason we can’t do the same.

Government should look to establish an Affordable Housing Fund, to directly support the development of high-quality homes in towns across the Isle of Man - open to all Manx residents, either for lease or purchase at a heavily reduced rate. 

Yes, there would be a significant upfront cost. But the long-term return would be profound. It would put more money in Manx people's pockets to save or spend, reduce the financial burden on households, free up public housing stock, and force private landlords and developers to offer properties that genuinely justify their price tags. It would inject competition into a dysfunctional market and start to repair the deep inequalities that housing insecurity has created.

The demand is there. The need is urgent. And the model exists.

All that’s missing now is the political will to act.