Housing grant, other benefits for those impacted by Melissa

The National Housing Trust (NHT) will provide a special grant of up to $500,000 to contributors to repair damage to their homes or those of immediate family members.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, who made the announcement in Parliament on Tuesday, also highlighted additional support to those displaced by Hurricane Melissa.

The NHT will grant an automatic six-month moratorium on mortgage payments to mortgagors in the worst affected parishes. Mortgagors in St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, Trelawny, St James, Manchester and St Ann will benefit. This will assist some 20,000 homeowners.

“For all other parishes the NHT will consider individual moratorium applications for those who have lost income or faced special hardships,” Holness said.

He also indicated that the trust will introduce a special home improvement loan of up to $3.5 million with interest rate of up to two per cent to both existing mortgagors and contributors who need to repair or rebuild their house owing to the impact of Melissa.

At the same time, a member of parliament (MP)-driven housing support programme is also being rolled out to those impacted by the hurricane.

MPs for constituencies in the worst affected parishes - St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Manchester, Hanover, St James, Trelawny – will receive $10 million per constituency.

Holness said $5 million will be allocated to constituencies in the parishes of St Ann and Clarendon while, for the other constituencies, $3 million will be allocated under the building support programme.

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