Government to Review Social Housing Programme to Include Land for Beneficiaries

“In the next budget, we will have more resources. We will expand the programme. We’ll add new features to the programme so that we can serve more people, and that is what good government is about,” said Prime Minister Holness.

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness says the Government is set to take a second look at its flagship New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) to explore how it can be expanded to include the provision of land for beneficiaries who qualify but do not own or have access to suitable property.

The move comes as the administration continues to scale up the programme and address one of its most significant constraints, land availability for eligible applicants.

Speaking on Thursday (July 10, 2025) at a contract signing and groundbreaking ceremony for the Hibiscus Development in Central St. Andrew, where seven housing units will be constructed including four studios, one two-bedroom and two three-bedroom homes, Prime Minister Holness reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to inclusive and equitable housing access.

“In the next budget, we will have more resources. We will expand the programme. We’ll add new features to the programme so that we can serve more people, and that is what good government is about,” said Prime Minister Holness.

Since its launch in 2019, the NSHP has made significant progress in delivering safe, quality and affordable housing to Jamaica’s most vulnerable citizens. Dr. Holness outlined the structured rollout of the initiative.

“We started in 2019. We put in place the structure, the regulations, the administration, the financing. We tested it out for a couple of years. Worked out what all the issues were. And the phase we are in now is to scale it up,” the Prime Minister explained.

Currently, the programme does not provide land for construction. Beneficiaries must either own property, obtain permission to build on family land, or locate land independently, a challenge that has limited the reach of the initiative.

“Right now this programme does not provide the land, so if you meet the need you would have to go and find the land. You’d have to go ask a family member or where you were living you get permission or if you own the land we build on it. But we are going to take a second look at it and see how we can include that,” the Prime Minister noted.

With the proposed changes to include land provision, the programme is expected to become even more accessible and impactful, offering new hope to those who meet the criteria but have been previously excluded due to land constraints.