Homeownership remains a top priority of the Government as thousands more Jamaicans received housing units, serviced lots, land titles and other benefits through programmes and initiatives.
New Social Housing Programme
• 180 homes have been handed over under the Government’s New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).
New Houses/Serviced lots Handed Over
• The National Housing Trust (NHT) handed over keys and documents for 1,134 housing solutions in four developments.
• Keys were handed over for 348 additional units in other developments previously completed.
Breaking of Ground
• 144 housing units at a cost of $2.8 billion comprising 130 duplexes and 14 mixed-use units at Royal Estates, Tivoli Gardens, Kingston, under the Community Renewal Project.
• 60 two-bedroom/one-bath housing units at a cost of $907 million in Sheffield Palms, Retreat, Westmoreland (Partnership with Sheffield Palms Limited under the Guaranteed Purchase Programme.
Upgrading of NHT Schemes
• 16 schemes were upgraded – Chippenham (Bamboo) in St. Ann; Charlemont, Hamilton Gardens Phase 1, Hellshire Park Phase 2, Portsmouth, and South-borough in St. Catherine; Croft’s Hill and New Town (Hayes) in Clarendon; Farm Heights in St. James; Fleet Street Apartments and Mountain View Apartments in Kingston; Frontier, Stockholm, and Iterboreale in St. Mary; and Red Hills Pen Housing Scheme in St. Thomas.
Easier Access to Financing
• The External Financing Mort- gage Programme (EFMP) was introduced, enabling contributors earning $30,000.99 or more weekly, as well as those who require additional financing, to access their NHT loan at one of 10 partner mortgage institutions.
• Improvements were made to the Housing Micro-finance Loan Programme, allowing contributors to access financing from app-roved credit unions towards a wide range of housing-related expenses.
The qualifying wage ceiling increased by 103 per cent to $86,000 weekly or less, up from $42,000 weekly or less.
The facility’s maximum loan limit also increased to $1.95 million, up from $1.5 million.
A total of 12 credit unions signed on to the programme.
Increase in Loan Ceiling
• An additional $1 million was available to contributors, representing a 15 per cent increase in the general loan ceiling from $6.5 million up to $7.5 million.
• House Lot, Home Improvement, Ten Plus (10+) and Fifteen Plus (15+) loans moved from $2.5 million to $3.5 million.
• The NHT made up to $8.5 million available to a single applicant (subject to afford- ability) when purchasing a unit on the Open Market costing $12 million or less.
National Land Agency (NLA)
• More than 254 residents of Manchester and St. Catherine received certificates of title for property they have occupied for several years under the Systematic Land Registration Programme.