NHT Reiterates Benefits Available to Contributors with Disabilities

Persons with disabilities who contribute to the National Housing Trust (NHT) and are looking to acquire a home are being encouraged to submit their applications early for an NHT scheme unit.

This is in order to benefit from the option of having the property modified to meet their physical needs, which will be undertaken by the NHT at no cost to the mortgager.

The NHT’s Assistant General Manager for Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Dwayne Berbick, says the agency reserves up to 10 per cent of scheme units for persons with disabilities.

“[However] we don’t stop at making the unit available to the person. We actually go a step further to retrofit the unit to meet the disability that the individual has,” he explained.

Mr. Berbick was speaking during the Love 101 radio programme, ‘Good Morning Minister’, on July 12.

He indicated that the Trust has been working with the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD) to identify members who can access this benefit.

“It is a relationship we, in recent times, have renewed with the JCPD; because what we also want to do is not wait until we finish construction to then identify the people. We want to find them before… so we can make those modifications for them,” he said, pointing out that “we do those modifications at no extra cost.”

Additionally, under the NHT’s Special Grant for Persons with Disabilities, successful applicants receive $300,000 to upgrade their home to meet their needs.

A maximum of two NHT mortgagors with disabilities residing in the same household can access the benefit.

“The NHT understands the needs of this particular group, and so we are a little bit more flexible in the application of policy to ensure maximum benefit,” Mr. Berbick stated.