KINGSTON, Jamaica — The National Housing Trust (NHT) is advising mortgagors that the special six-month hurricane relief moratorium, granted in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, will officially end on April 30.

General Manager for Loan Management, Dr Suzanne Wynter, said that regular mortgage payments are set to resume on May 1.

However, she advised that provisions remain in place for individuals whose homes are still severely impacted.

Dr Wynter explained that individuals whose properties remain uninhabitable or severely damaged may qualify for an extension of the moratorium.

“For mortgagors in severely affected schemes such as Brompton in St Elizabeth and Union Acres in St James, a three-month extension will be automatically applied to their accounts,” she said.

Other eligible mortgagors will be required to submit a simple application form via the NHT’s website.

The application should be completed as early as possible, preferably before May 1, to prevent accounts from falling into arrears. The final deadline for submission is June 30, 2026.

Dr Wynter further explained that while interest charges were waived during the moratorium period, principal payments and insurance charges continued to accrue.

Consequently, customers may experience an increase in their monthly payments, as these outstanding amounts will be added to the loan balance and recalculated over the remaining loan term.

The general manager indicated that formal communication outlining revised payment details will be issued to customers in May.

In the meantime, mortgagors are encouraged to continue making payments, consistent with their pre-moratorium amounts, until the updated figures are confirmed.

The NHT is also urging individuals who remain financially challenged but do not qualify for the special extension to seek assistance under its Special Assistance Programme.

Under this programme, mortgagors may access a range of relief options, including temporary payment moratoria, reduced interest rates, extended loan tenures, or structured partial payments, depending on individual circumstances.

Dr Wynter is urging mortgagors to act early if they anticipate difficulty in meeting their obligations.

“It is important that customers assess their ability to resume payments and, where necessary, engage the NHT as soon as possible so that we can provide the appropriate support,” she said.

The hurricane relief moratorium, which supported more than 30,000 mortgagors, was introduced to provide affected homeowners with time to recover and prioritise repairs following Hurricane Melissa.

— JIS