Senate Approves Parliamentary Committee’s Housing Order Reports

The Senate, on Friday (June 1), approved two reports from Parliament’s Regulations Committee pertaining to the National Housing Trust (Housing Benefit) (Special Selections) (Estuary Housing Development) Order, 2017, and National Housing Trust (Housing Benefits) (Special Selection) (Berkshire Court of Eltham) Order, 2018.

The reports, which were tabled during the Senate’s sitting at Gordon House, resulted from the Committee’s deliberations on the Orders, which were previously tabled in the Upper House.

The National Housing Trust (Housing Benefits) (Special Selections) (Estuary Housing Development) Order 2017, was tabled last October, and the National Housing Trust (Housing Benefits) (Special Selections) (Berkshire Courts of Eltham) Order 2018, in May.

Government Senator, Matthew Samuda, who moved the Motion for the documents’ tabling, noted that the attendant projects would be beneficial to numerous Jamaicans, especially public servants in need of proper housing facilities.

“As the Senate is aware, the NHT may (allocate) a number of units in housing developments for specific groups, such as the police, soldiers, and public servants and, in some cases, those who are disabled. Orders are done specifying these (allocations). The Committee found the regulations to be in order and reported (same) to the Senate,” Mr. Samuda said.

When the Orders come into effect, the NHT shall establish and operate a special programme to provide housing solutions in both the Estuary in St. James and Berkshire Court of Eltham in St. Catherine to qualified persons.

The NHT plans to provide 15,000 housing solutions by 2020 to qualified persons islandwide, including those in the Estuary and Berkshire Court.

To date, the NHT shortlisted approximately 1,425 applications for one-bedroom detached housing units in the Estuary, of which 300 were made available in 2017, while 44 beneficiaries received keys to new homes at Berkshire Court in 2017.