Six-month moratorium on NHT mortgages — Holness
$10 million each for housing assistance in hardest-hit parishes
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Up to 20,000 homeowners in the most devastated parishes following the hit the country took from Hurricane Melissa, stand to benefit from a six-month moratorium on their mortgage from the National Housing Trust (NHT).
This forms part of what Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness described as the NHT’s activation of a “comprehensive package of support measures to help its contributors and mortgagors recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa”.
He was speaking Tuesday in the House of Representatives, where he provided a preliminary estimate of the damage caused by Melissa at roughly $1 trillion.
He also announced that constituencies in the five hardest-hit parishes will benefit from $10 million each to assist constituents with shelter.
“Across the island, our first priority has been to deliver food, water and medical support to every affected community. But we know that beyond these essentials, the greatest need now is shelter,” Holness said.
Under the building support programme, constituencies in Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, St James, Trelawny and Hanover have been allocated $10 million each to assist with housing needs.
For St Ann, Manchester and Clarendon, $5 million will be allocated to each constituency, and for other parishes, $3 million per constituency.
“We will also be announcing a building grant programme similar to the one announced after Hurricane Beryl,” the prime minister revealed as he reminded that all NHT mortgagors are insured under the Trust’s House Owners’ Comprehensive Policy which covers damage from hurricanes, storms, floods, fire, and other perils. He said the NHT has already mobilised its branches islandwide to help mortgagors prepare and process their insurance claims quickly and efficiently.
“Recognising that many families will need time to prioritise home repairs, the NHT will grant an automatic six-month moratorium on mortgage payments for mortgagors in the worst-affected parishes — St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, Trelawny, St James, Manchester, and St Ann. This measure will assist more than 20,000 homeowners,” said Holness.
