The last statement said construction being managed from UK. I guess there is full employment in FI, people working more than 1 job? Which makes holding onto people harder.
These people look happy.
"The Falkland Islands Company ("FIC") had a difficult start to the current financial year, driven mainly by the continuing slippage of construction tender awards, as noted in the trading statement issued on 30 July 2024. In addition, the departure of the FIC Managing Director and the Falkland Building Services management team earlier this year, and the delay in their replacement, given the challenge of doing so in a remote location, is now also starting to adversely impact trading. The process to secure permanent replacements is progressing and in the meantime, support is being provided to FIC through a combination of assistance from Group and the use of interim resource." |
 Shortage of housing, will need much more with oil business.
Partly because of the dynamism of the Falkland Islands economy and a situation of full employment, with shortages in several trades, the issue of housing in the Islands has become "extremely worrying", according to MP-elect Leona Roberts after a meeting in the Housing Committee with the head of the government. Kristy Williams.
At the moment there are about 65 applicants for housing provided by the government, with 38 of which applicants with a score of zero or less, among which 55.38% apply for a one-bedroom home; 35.38% want two bedrooms and 9.24% want three. In addition, there are 16 tenants on the list requesting a larger property, or other locations for various reasons.
But the issue is, how do they get on the List? Not everyone has access to housing provided by the Government of the Islands. To be on the List, you must have Falkland Islands status and have been in the Islands for a previous period of at least 24 months. The points from then on are distributed according to the situations, if there are children involved, amount of savings, and if there is a risk of being homeless, are some of the ways to collect points, and the more points, the better positioned in the List of applicants.
The vicissitudes to which a tenant on the List is condemned were listed below. He has been trying to lease and even buy, but prices have skyrocketed. "For example, three-bedroom homes were offered monthly rents of £1,550, £1,690, and up to £1,900" As for buying, individuals are constantly left out of competition by companies; Buyers are interested in buying to rent and are offering up to £50,000 more to secure a purchase. Likewise, land lots are also on the rise, as more families aspire to get a piece of land to have a home. Despite all their efforts and search for opportunities to rent or buy, the resident in question is pending eviction at the end of the month from the rented home.
In view of the situation, she has turned to the government for help to overcome the moment, "even though I have never in my life asked for help, I am currently in seventh place on the Waiting List, and the fact is that at the end of the month I will technically be homeless."
And it is not a blanket of roses for the owners and builders either, as explained by the government's head of housing, Ms. Williams. Of a total of 197 rented properties, about 28 are private, the demand is also very high and the supply of homes to rent is practically nil. At the moment there are 21 of 22 committed while a last one is in the process of being completed. "So there's a real shortage of rental housing." What's more, a batch of new workers from abroad had been able to be accommodated, but if more orders come in the future, there will be a lot of difficulties,... unless there are more landlords from abroad who leave or receive empty properties in time for such a scenario"
As for the total number of Falkland Islands Government homes, Ms Williams revealed that there are 179, with five of them under renovation.
As for the housing that is being built in the old Bennett paddock, in the capital, most were in the process of completion, "and after that we have no more construction underway." At the latest, in September they should have delivered a few more homes at the end of the contract, but the issue has been delayed. However, the housing manager stressed that the properties in the Bennett Corral were going to be targeted to meet the demand of local residents of the Falklands.
According to the latest Falkland Islands Population and Housing Census, 2021, in that year; In the capital Stanley there were about a thousand homes, 81 apartments and 65 temporary solutions. Meanwhile, the population would be around 2,800, but if the hydrocarbon industry finally takes flight, as everything seems to be the case, the influx of specialists and oil workers will create a new bid on the demand for housing. |
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