New NHT policies take effect on July 1

National Housing Trust (NHT) contributors will be able to take advantage of policy changes that are to take effect on July 1.

All NHT mortgagors will become eligible for a home improvement loan of up to $3.5 million after 10 years of their initial mortgage, a reduction from the previous 15-year waiting period. Previously, only public sector workers would be eligible after 10 years.

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service Think Tank, on June 26, Administrative Support Manager of the NHT, Shara Luke, said the agency has also designed new products that will assist contributors at large in accessing funding for renewable energy equipment and devices. With the new loan offering, homeowners can access financing of up to $1.5 million to outfit their home with energy-saving technologies, such as solar panels and batteries, solar water heaters, and rainwater harvesting systems. For the next three years, 30 government pensioners per parish will receive grants of up to $1.5 million each to install solar panel systems on the homes. Pensioners who earned less than $30,000 per week at the point of retirement are being prioritised for this grant.

"Another provision that we will have is the Home Starter Programme. We know that we have our younger contributors and over the years they have felt marginalised. So, the NHT has identified projects where we will allow more young persons to buy into those schemes with the opportunity to sell it back to us without losing their NHT benefit," she informed. Contributors can then sell their units back to the NHT within 10 years and access full benefits for acquiring a new home. The programme will feature one-bedroom and studio apartment complexes in urban centres. Initial developments include units in Vineyard Town and Howard Avenue in Kingston.

Meanwhile, other contributors will benefit from the Special Young Adults Programme. By virtue of the increasing demand for homeownership among young adults, the NHT will begin to reserve at least 10 per cent of its housing solutions for contributors under 35. It is estimated that approximately 4,300 housing solutions will be available over the next five years, with the possibility of 100 per cent financing up to $15 million from the NHT.