Government Expanding Housing Supply While Protecting Jamaicans from Displacement
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to ensuring that national development improves the lives of Jamaicans without displacing families, while accelerating the delivery of affordable housing through expanded construction, innovative financing and targeted policy reforms.
Speaking today (Wednesday, July 1, 2026) at the NHT Handing Over Ceremony for the Vineyard Town Housing Development in Vineyard Town, St. Andrew, Prime Minister Holness said the Government is addressing housing challenges by increasing the supply of homes while ensuring that development creates opportunities for existing residents rather than forcing them from their communities.
“The challenge with housing in Jamaica is not demand; it is not necessarily affordability. The challenge with housing is the scale of output and the supply-side issues. We need to be building tens of thousands of houses each year, not two thousand or three thousand, because only by increasing supply at scale will we make home ownership more affordable for the average Jamaican,” said Prime Minister Holness.
The Prime Minister explained that the Government is actively scaling up housing output by tackling barriers to construction, including slow approval processes, limited availability of suitable lands and the need for larger developments that reduce the cost of each housing unit through economies of scale.
To further expand housing supply, Prime Minister Holness renewed his call for greater participation in the NHT Small Developers Programme, which supports developers constructing between five and 25 housing units, or developments of up to 50 rooms. Through this initiative, the NHT provides financing, technical guidance and development support to increase affordable housing for working Jamaicans.
The Prime Minister also outlined several initiatives aimed at making home ownership more accessible, including a deposit loan programme that allows qualifying contributors to access up to $2 million towards a down payment, a $3.5 million Home Resilience Loan to strengthen homes against natural hazards, the revised five plus loan programme that allows contributors to access home improvement financing after five years, a one percent reduction in mortgage interest rates for eligible public sector workers and the reservation of 20 percent of NHT housing units for persons aged 35 years and younger.
Dr Holness stated: “What we intend to do is facilitate the development of more lands for housing and strengthen programmes like the Small Developers Programme so that more Jamaicans can build affordable homes. We want development to expand opportunities for our people, not displace them, and that is why we are creating more housing options across the country.”
Prime Minister Holness noted that during the 2026-2027 financial year, the NHT is scheduled to commence 10,675 housing starts and complete 5,673 housing units, further advancing the Government’s commitment to increasing affordable housing across Jamaica. The NHT was previously tasked with delivering 42,000 of the Government’s target of 70,000 housing solutions over five years. The programme was significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Beryl. Despite those setbacks, the NHT recorded 31,540 housing starts, completed 21,166 housing units and issued approximately 67,000 mortgages.