Holness says vulnerable NHT contributors to benefit from special grant for home repair
KINGSTON, Jamaica — You don’t have to be a home owner to benefit from a Government grant if the house you live in suffered damage as a result of Hurricane Beryl.
In fact, any contributor to the State-owned National Housing Trust (NHT) who is determined to be vulnerable, and who sustained damage, is eligible for a special home grant to carry out repairs to their dwelling.
“This grant will be available, subject to need and level of impact. Both contributors and mortgagors may apply,” said Prime Minister Andrew Holness in a statement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
He was providing an update on the government’s recovery and relief efforts.
The prime minister also announced that NHT mortgagors who have been affected by the hurricane and may need to prioritise urgent repairs to their property, may apply for a moratorium on their mortgage of three to six months.
“This arrangement may facilitate some reprieve for persons recovering from the impact of the storm especially as they prepare for back to school,” Holness explained.
He added that “NHT continues to facilitate general applications for moratoriums for persons impacted by loss of income and other special circumstances”.
And, the NHT will also facilitate a special home improvement loan for existing mortgagors to assist in necessary repairs and home improvements to improve disaster resilience.
“This is a special facility aimed at supporting mortgagors who may need to supplement insurance arrangements in order to adequately complete repairs. This facility is also intended to support NHT contributors, including those who do not currently have a mortgage, but may have suffered property damage due to the hurricane,” Holness said.
He lauded the NHT for contributing significant sums to the national restoration effort, stating that “in addition to these specific measures for contributors, the NHT is committed to supporting national initiatives to respond to those impacted by Hurricane Beryl. In that regard, the NHT will provide $200m for the national restoration effort”.
