Jersey housing qualifications
Qualified and Registered are categories of housing, not of people. A Qualified home may only be occupied by someone who is Entitled or Licensed; a Registered home — once called unqualified — may be occupied by anyone. Buying is a separate rule and the categories do not decide it: only an Entitled or Licensed person may buy a Jersey home in their own name.
What the island’s adverts actually say
Of the 1631 properties currently advertised across the 40 agencies we index, 137 state a housing category. The other 1494 do not — which means the category is unknown, not unrestricted.
- Qualified
- 131
- Registered
- 6
- Not stated
- 1494
We never infer a category. A listing whose agent did not publish one is shown as Not stated and is not counted as either — guessing it would be the most consequential thing this site could get wrong.
The residential statuses, and what each may do
A person holds a residential and employment status; a property carries a housing category. They are two different things, and it is the pairing that decides where somebody may live. gov.je describes four categories and lists a fifth row — Licensed Lease Only, a variant of Licensed — so all five are below.
Entitled
Someone who has lived in Jersey for 10 years.
- Buying
- May buy, sell or lease any property.
- Where they may live
- Any home, Qualified or Registered.
Licensed
Someone approved as an essential employee.
- Buying
- May buy, sell or lease any property apart from first-time-buyer restricted and social rented housing, in their own name, for as long as the status lasts.
- Where they may live
- Any home, Qualified or Registered.
Licensed Lease Only
Someone approved as an essential employee, on the lease-only form of the status.
- Buying
- May not buy.
- Where they may live
- Any home, by lease, for as long as the status lasts.
Entitled for Work
Someone who has lived in Jersey for 5 consecutive years, or who is married to, in a civil partnership with, or in an enduring relationship with someone Entitled, Licensed or Entitled for Work.
- Buying
- May buy only jointly with an Entitled or Licensed spouse or civil partner — never in their own name.
- Where they may live
- A Registered home, as a main place of residence.
Registered
Someone who does not qualify under any category above — which is most people arriving in Jersey for the first time.
- Buying
- May not buy.
- Where they may live
- A Registered home, as a main place of residence. In practice that means registered lodging, private lodgings and tourist accommodation.
Your own status is issued by the States of Jersey and appears on your registration card. It is not something an agent or a portal decides, and nothing here is advice on your position. The wording above follows gov.je’s residential status table and its accommodation restrictions page.
Registered property in Jersey
6 properties are currently advertised as Registered, 5 of those to rent. This is everything the agencies we index have actually labelled — a Registered person should still ask, because most listings say nothing either way.
£1,490 pcm
St Johns Road
St Helier
- Parking
£1,400 pcm
The Flat, The Long Barn
St Saviour
- Parking
£880 pcm
Bedsit 11 West Park Avenue
St Helier
£1,750 pcm
Oaklands Lane, La Route De La Trinite
St Helier
- Parking
£2,500,000
Route De Beaumont
St Peter
- Garden
- Parking
£1,500 pcm
St Johns Road
St Helier
- Parking
Which Jersey agents publish residential status
Most do not. These 11 state it on at least some of their listings, which is why a search on this site can show it at all.
Jersey residential status questions
What is the difference between Qualified and Registered in Jersey?
They are the two categories of housing under the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 — not statuses a person holds. A Qualified home may only be occupied by someone whose residential status is Entitled, Licensed or Licensed Lease Only. A Registered home — previously called unqualified — may be occupied by anyone, whatever their status.
Can a Registered person buy a house in Jersey?
No. gov.je states that you can only buy a property in Jersey if your residential and employment status is Entitled or Licensed. A Registered person may lease a Registered property as a main place of residence and may not buy at all; an Entitled for Work person may buy only jointly with an Entitled or Licensed spouse or civil partner. This is a rule about the buyer rather than about the house — the home’s Qualified or Registered category decides who may then live in it.
What are the residential statuses in Jersey?
Entitled (ten years’ residence), Licensed (an approved essential employee), Licensed Lease Only, Entitled for Work (five consecutive years, or married to, in a civil partnership with or in an enduring relationship with someone Entitled, Licensed or Entitled for Work) and Registered (everyone else). Your status is issued by the States of Jersey and appears on your registration card.
Can a Registered person rent any property in Jersey?
No. A Registered person may lease a Registered property as a main place of residence, and not a Qualified one. Most Jersey listings do not state their category at all, so it has to be confirmed with the agent before viewing rather than assumed from the advert.
How many Jersey listings state their housing category?
Of 1631 properties currently advertised across the agencies we index, 137 state a category — 131 Qualified and 6 Registered. The remaining 1494 do not say, which means the category is unknown rather than unrestricted.
Is unqualified the same as Registered?
"Unqualified" is the older term for what the 2012 Law calls Registered. Adverts and search results still use both, and they mean the same category of housing.
Both the categories and the statuses are set by the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012, and your own status is a matter for the States of Jersey rather than for an agent or a portal. Nothing here is advice on your position, and a home’s category should be confirmed with the agent before you view rather than taken from an advert.
Published . The law and the categories were last checked against gov.je on . The counts on this page are read from the catalogue each time it is rebuilt, so they are as current as the last time we read each agent’s site.