THROUGH the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), the Ministry of Housing and Water has reopened applications for Core Home Support and Home Improvement Subsidies under the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP).
The call for applications was announced during a press briefing on Friday, at the Ministry’s sub-office, 237 Camp Street, Georgetown.
The budget for the two aspects of the project is US$10M: US$5M for the home improvement subsidies and US$5M for core home support.
Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal, said “the interventions that are being made are intended to target the poor and the vulnerable. This is timely as it is also part of the means of reducing the incidence of the housing instability that challenges many of our communities.”
He further stated that inadequate housing is also linked to homelessness, abuse, setbacks in educational development and school drop-outs. Minister Rodrigues shared similar sentiments, as she stated that the ministry is not only focusing on the distribution of house lots, but also promoting homeownership, as government remains committed to developing sustainable low-income housing solutions.
The home improvement subsidies will be a $500,000 grant in the form of construction materials for repairs to walls, floors, electrical works and sanitation improvements and other non-cosmetic improvements that are consistent with the programme’s objectives.
CH&PA Chief Executive Officer, Sherwyn Greaves, noted that some 2,000 Home Improvement Subsidies have been earmarked under the programme. During the first tranche of the programme, 236 subsidies have been approved for 118 residents in Sophia, Georgetown and 118 La Parfait Harmonie residents, leaving room for an additional 1,764 eligible applicants to now benefit.
Through the Core Home Support initiative, 250 core homes are expected to be built. One hundred applications have so far been approved and contracts recently signed for construction of 50 of these homes.
The core homes will be no less than 400 square feet single-family homes with concrete blocks for outer walls and floors, basic doors, windows, electrical wiring and water connections, among others. The homes are designed to meet basic standards that a family can move into and affordably expand over time.
Applications are open from November 5, 2021 to February 7, 2022. All beneficiaries must be individuals in vulnerable households, living in structures considered to not be habitable. These are also persons who possess ownership of the said property.
The application forms are available free of cost at the CH&PA Headquarters, 41 Brickdam and United Nations Place, Stabroek, Georgetown; sub-office 237 Camp Street, Georgetown (next to St. Margaret’s Primary School); Regional Housing Offices at Vreed-en-Hoop, Region Three and all local authorities within the project boundaries.
The programme previously encompassed communities from Georgetown to Grove on the East Bank of Demerara, up to La Bonne Intention on the East Coast of Demerara and Westminster, Onderneeming, Recht-Door-Zee, Lust en Rust, and Parfaite Harmonie Phase II on the West Bank of Demerara. The ministry recently expanded the boundary to include an additional 19 communities on the East Coast of Demerara.
