THE National Housing Trust (NHT) is assuring mortgagors now benefiting from a pause on monthly payments in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa that every effort will be made to minimise any increase in their payments after the six-month grace period ends on April 30.

“At the end of the moratorium their loan is going to be rescheduled, and the possibility exists that their monthly payment may increase. We will be contacting them, whether via the physical mail or email, to give them an estimate of their new monthly payment before it takes effect. I just want for them to remain in contact with NHT, especially around the March to April period, so they know the amount that they’ll be required to pay,” NHT Loan Management General Manager Dr Suzanne Wynter told the Jamaica Observer’s Real Estate on the Rock last week.

“The NHT is trying, as much as possible, to ensure that when we reschedule those mortgage accounts, any increase in the monthly payment will be very low,” she stressed.

According to Wynter, mortgagors close to completely paying off their loans will stand a greater chance of being impacted.

“For persons who are close to maturity, we already know who they are and we’re going to be reaching out to them as to how to help them — because those persons are more likely to be affected in terms of a material increase in their monthly payment,” she said.

Among the steps being taken by the NHT to keep increases to a minimum is a pause in interest that would have normally accrued, and giving mortgagors time to catch up on insurance payments.

“Any peril insurance that would have been unpaid during the six-month period, we will have it spread across the remaining life of the loan; and any unpaid life insurance premium will be added to their loan principal,” said Wynter.

“There’s no interest during the period; if persons would have had interest on their accounts, those interests will be absorbed by the NHT, so there’ll be no interest to be capitalised,” she added.

The moratorium, however, will not automatically mean accounts are in good standing. As Wynter explained, those that were in arrears before the pause on payments will remain in arrears, while those that were prepaid will still have that designation.

The moratorium on mortgage payments, rolled out to provide support to those impacted by last October’s Category 5 storm, began last November. Mortgagors in the seven most-affected parishes — St James, Trelawny, Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, St Ann, Manchester, and Hanover — automatically qualify and do not have to apply. The NHT even alerted employers of mortgagors who pay via salary deductions that they should suspend payments.

Mortgagors from these seven parishes who wish to continue making payments can do so, and some have been servicing their loans. However, about 30,000 are currently benefiting from the special automatic moratorium, according to numbers provided by Wynter.

This has added to the usual new year shortfall in the NHT’s cash inflow from mortgage collection.

“We normally receive less mortgage payments in January because many of our mortgagors assume, incorrectly, that their contribution refund posted is almost a substitute for their regular mortgage payments and so they normally don’t make their regular mortgage payments,” the loan manager explained.

She stressed that this fall-off is typically not significant, with about a $32-million difference between December and January 2025.

“This year, what we’re expecting is a greater fall-off because many of those same mortgagors, they’re not required to make payments because of the automatic special moratorium that was approved until April,” said Wynter.

There is still time for the number of people benefiting from the moratorium to increase. As Wynter pointed out, mortgagors outside of the seven most-affected parishes can also receive support, but they need to move quickly.

“Those in the least affected parishes — that is Kingston, St Andrew, St Catherine, Clarendon, St Mary, Portland, and St Thomas — they can still qualify for that same moratorium, provided that their income was affected by the hurricane or their property was damaged. But they have to apply, and they have to apply by January 31. To date, we have received 33 applications, and those applications are being processed,” Wynter told the Sunday Observer last Wednesday.

January 31 is also the cut-off date for mortgagors to apply to the NHT for a hurricane relief grant or loan. Submissions are still being accepted for peril insurance claims as the NHT negotiates with insurers on a new deadline. It was originally January 15.

Outside of hurricane claims, the NHT still has its regular special assistance programme for mortgagors having financial challenges.

“They can get a regular moratorium, they can get a reduced interest rate, they can get extended loan tenure, and other options. So those additional options are still available to them, and those extend beyond the January 31 deadline and beyond the April cut-off date,” said Wynter.

The moratorium on mortgage payments was rolled out to provide support to those impacted by last October’s Category 5 storm.