THE Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) is urging houselot applicants from 1996 and 2001 to come forward as it works to reduce the backlog of applications in the system.

On Monday, the housing authority issued a notice calling for 152 applicants, who applied between 1996 and 1999, to make contact with the Land Administration and Conveyance Department on Friday March 9, 2018.
Applicants are asked to walk with a valid identification card or passport; recent job letter, pay slip or affidavit of income for self-employed applicants; birth certificate of children; marriage certificate or absolute and TIN certificates.

CH&PA in recent times has been advocating for applicants with dated application to visit its Brickdam Office, as it attempts to sanitize its database, while ensuring that those applicants, once interested, are given preference to own lands or housing units.

CH&PA Public Relations Officer, Iva Wharton on Monday said that the housing authority is sanitizing the system, explaining that while applications for the period 1991-2001 are in the system, some applicants were never interviewed. As such, the authority is calling on them to be interviewed, update their information and indicate whether they are still interested in houselots or the other housing solutions currently available.

Wharton noted that the CH&PA has completed interviews with persons who had applied between 1991 and 1995. She said some of the applicants had already secured lands and housing units, and were no longer interested. The current focus, she said, is now on persons who would have applied between 1996 and 2001.

According to CH&PA, statistics show that there are approximately 6, 000 applicants in Region 4 alone for that period. CH&PA had said that prior to May 4, 2009, interviews were not done immediately. Applicants were expected to submit their application forms and be given a date to return for the interview.

However, that system has since been changed and interviews are done immediately, providing that applicants have all the required documents which include a valid identification card or passport, tax identification certificate, birth certificate of children if applicable, marriage certificate/absolute/death certificate of spouse if applicable and a recent pay slip or job letter.

Stating that it understands the importance for Guyanese to acquire land or housings units, the housing authority said it is working assiduously to develop lands as well as construct housing units to meet the demands of the population.