Thousands of vacant lots and derelict houses across Barbados could be targeted to ease the shortage of houses under a new Government programme aimed at tackling the island’s chronic shortage of affordable homes.
Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance Chris Gibbs says an Inter-American Development Bank study estimates there are about 15 000 vacant lots and derelict houses, although the research covered only a percentage of Barbados.
“There is an opportunity there for us to unlock value in these derelict houses,” he told a Barbados Labour Party Christ Church South meeting held at the constituency office of parliamentary representative Dr Shantal Munro-Knight on Maxwell Main Road.
He said a Cabinet paper was being prepared to address the issue, but stressed that Government would have to be careful about entering privatelyowned properties. “We have to find the right legal mechanism,” Gibbs said, explaining that two pieces of legislation were being considered – compulsory acquisition and an abandonment clause.
“Now we know a lot of them they might be family fighting over the inheritance and the house just sitting there because nobody can’t touch it because of fighting. In other instances, they have ownership that’s overseas and in a lot of instances those individuals have passed away. Then there’s just some owners that got two or three houses that just leave them there.”
The minister said the attraction to rehabilitating derelict houses was that much of the infrastructure was already in place.
“If there’s a derelict house next door to you on this main road, it got road, it got water, it got light, it got Internet. I don’t have to put in those things,” he said.
That, he explained, could make adaptive reuse cheaper than developing new “greenfield” sites, where Government must first install roads, water and other utilities.
The initiative comes as Government seeks to chip away at an 8 000 to 10 000-application backlog at the National Housing Corporation (NHC).
Gibbs said the backlog had once been in the tens of thousands, but an audited list reduced it significantly. The plan now is to return to the oldest applications and work forward as new housing becomes available.
The strategy will involve a partnership between the NHC and Home Ownership Providing Energy (HOPE) Inc.
Gibbs said HOPE will become the main builder of the developments, while the NHC will use its design and planning teams to design the projects. NHC will focus on social housing, with a percentage of units in each development reserved for people who need additional assistance.
Gibbs said Government had analysed income data and about 3 200 mortgage certificates were in the NHC system. The certificates range from $50 000 to $400 000, with 58 per cent below $200 000.
He said those figures would guide the types and prices of homes being built, with private developers expected to cater to people at the higher end.
Among the developments in the pipeline are 28 detached homes at Coverley Great House, Christ Church, where planning permission has been completed; 181 housing solutions at Searles, also in Christ Church, where innovative construction technology is being explored, and developments at Vineyard, Deanstown and Concordia.
Gibbs also identified a planned 400-unit development at Congo Road, St Philip, being undertaken with another entity, as well as 1 100 units at Vineyard, St Philip.
Government is also planning highrise housing at Hindsbury, Exmouth, Wellington Street, Cats Castle and Mason Hall Street.
The Government is also considering a Social Mortgage Initiative to help people who cannot qualify for traditional mortgages. Gibbs said the proposal, which seeks to bridge the gap for applicants who fall outside conventional lending requirements, is to be taken to Cabinet.
A second pillar would be to “derisk” mortgages, potentially allowing financial institutions to offer 100 per cent financing to some applicants, with age and affordability factored into the assessment. He said about 340 of the 3 200 mortgage-certificate applicants qualify for less than $100 000.
“Five to ten years,” Gibbs said when asked about the timeframe to get the housing stock up, while cautioning against setting hard targets. (NS)
