Young islanders are being increasingly locked out of home ownership and struggling to find safe, affordable rental accommodation, according to a new report from Tynwald’s Youth Select Committee.
The Committee’s first report of the 2024–25 session concludes that housing policy is failing to meet the needs of those aged 16 to 24, with knock-on effects for population retention, mental health and the island’s long-term economic strategy.
It found young people are far more likely than other age groups to rent privately, exposing them to high costs and inconsistent housing standards.
It also highlighted growing barriers to home ownership, particularly for first-time buyers on lower incomes.
Graduates
In its conclusions, the Committee said: “Graduate students are dissuaded from returning to the Isle of Man by the inaccessibility of independent living, and the lack of focus on young people’s needs in existing housing policy.”
It warned that without intervention, the island risks losing young adults permanently after they leave for education or early career opportunities elsewhere.
During oral evidence, returning graduate Massimo Formby described the difficulty of finding accommodation after university. He told the Committee: “After living out for four years at university, I still want to retain that experience over here.”
He added that the search for housing was both limited and stressful, saying: “The other aspect to it is that there is just no housing. We tried for about two months. We had to pick the first one that we could get.”
The Committee also raised serious concerns about standards in the private rented sector, noting that there are currently no comprehensive minimum requirements in force for landlords.
It described this situation as “unacceptable” and called for urgent action to bring regulations under the Landlord Registration (Private Housing) Act into effect.
First Time Buyers
The Committee later criticised the current first-time buyers’ schemes, arguing that income thresholds are too low to reflect minimum or living wages.
It concluded that “the current income thresholds for these schemes are not fit for purpose and require further revision”.
The DoI has recently announced plans to alter the first-time-buyers scheme to make it more accessible to lower income people and families.
Lawrie Hooper MHK told the committee that the root problem was supply. He said: “Ultimately, the core problem we have on the Island is supply and demand. There is not a lot of supply and there is a lot of demand out there.”
Among its recommendations, the Committee called for a review of affordable housing requirements, reforms to commuted sums paid by developers and renewed exploration of mid-rent and “let to buy” housing models.
The report concludes that without decisive action, the island’s ambition to attract and retain young, economically active residents will remain out of reach, stating that “as well as more homes being built, greater diversity in the types of property being created is desperately needed”.
You can read the full report here.