NHT surpasses 43,000 units as Government hits housing milestone
Published:Saturday | July 19, 2025 | 12:09 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Government is indicating that it has met its target of delivering 70,000 new housing solutions, with the National Housing Trust (NHT) surpassing its assigned mandate of 43,000 units.
Speaking at Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Chantilly Gardens Housing Development near Savanna-la-Mar in Westmoreland, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness declared, “Today marks yet another milestone in our mission as a Government to ensure that every Jamaican has access to secure, quality housing.”
The Chantilly Gardens project, a collaboration between the NHT and Green Solutions Limited under the Guaranteed Purchase Programme (GPP), will comprise 120 one- and two-bedroom units aimed at accelerating home construction and reducing financial risk for developers.
Holness praised the initiative, saying, “The Chantilly Gardens development represents a commitment fulfilled through partnership between the National Housing Trust and Green Solutions Limited.”
Each 750-square-foot home, he said, will feature modern amenities and resilient construction, including reinforced concrete walls and roofs, ceramic tile flooring, glazed windows, indoor plumbing, external laundry areas, and functional kitchens.
KEY INFRASTRUCTURE
Additionally, the prime minister said the development would include key infrastructure such as paved roads with sidewalks, stormwater drainage, a potable water supply with fire hydrants, and a central sewage treatment plant.
“We’re building not just homes, but sustainable, complete and liveable communities,” Holness asserted.
Holness, who has ministerial responsibility for housing within the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, highlighted the NHT’s expansive contribution to Jamaica’s housing sector since 2016.
“Over the past nine years, the NHT has created more than 67,000 mortgages, started over 31,000 housing solutions, and completed more than 21,000 homes,” he revealed. “That is the largest expenditure on housing in Jamaica’s history and in the history of the NHT.”
Currently, more than 40,000 housing units are at various stages of development through the NHT, he said.
The prime minister was particularly proud of the trust’s performance over the period starting April 2021 up to today.
“Since April 2021, the NHT has completed 8,330 houses. So, from April 2021 to now, the NHT will be responsible for over 50,000 housing solutions coming to the market. The NHT has exceeded their part of the 70,000 commitment. I want to say thanks to the NHT for pursuing this.”
Holness also sought to reassure Jamaicans that his administration was addressing both supply and demand in the housing market.
“The Jamaican public can be assured that, from the NHT alone, 50,000 houses will be available on the market to meet the demand that exists,” he said.
With the 70,000-target now achieved, Holness has announced a new goal of building 60,000 housing solutions over the next five years. This will be accompanied by a shift in policy direction, with the NHT being tasked with delivering 40,000 of those units.
Holness said the NHT has developed the necessary capacity and understands what needs to be done.
POLICY SHIFT
“Housing policy has to shift, eventually, as we meet this deficit of 150,000 new houses. It has to shift to focus on rebuilding our inner-city and long-established residential communities that are now in decay. Here in Westmoreland, you can find some of those communities. There are many neighbourhoods in Kingston where they were built, some of them 60-70 years ago, and they are in decline,” the prime minister said.
“The next chapter in Jamaica’s housing journey is the resuscitation, rehabilitation, redevelopment, and renewal of existing housing schemes, existing housing developments, and residential areas.”
According to Holness, this approach offers opportunities to leverage existing infrastructure in ageing communities.
“Many of them have water mains. They are old, but you may have to change them. But the land is already parcelled out. Titles exist,” he said.
To support this new thrust, the Government has launched the Small Developments Programme.
“If you live in one of the communities that we will soon declare to be targeted under the Small Developments Programme, and you have land there, and the density permits, we will, in partnership with you, provide the financing to redevelop that property to get a few more units on it,” Holness said.