The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) is urging holders government-acquired of house lots not to re-sell the land, but rather return it to the agency.
According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), CH&PA’s Director of Operations, Denise King-Tudor, said the agency is working to increase its investigation and staff strength of the enforcement and investigation unit.
Information has shown that individuals who are selling the land, are issuing irrevocable Power of Attorneys to the buyer. Because there is a payment penalty for the act, in many cases, the new buyer is left to make that payment.
“We do not want persons to sell the lots that we have given to them. We are expecting that if someone is no longer interested in a vacant lot, that they can return it to us. We will refund them and reallocate it to someone who is on the waiting list.”
At the same time, King-Tudor said the agency is also reviewing the allocation criteria and selection process for persons purchasing housing units.
According to her, it has been discovered that a lot of information during the application process is oftentimes omitted.
“They [applicants] provide documentations to say this is what I earn, but sometimes I am of the view that persons do not give us all the information pertaining to their financial status.”
In such cases, many persons applying for a low or middle-income home can quickly expand their living quarters. While the CH&PA has no qualms about the developments, there is a timeline of twelve months which homeowners must adhere to before making any changes to the units. Any time prior, permission must be sought.
“So, we are in the process of reviewing the allocation criteria and the selection process and I believe that once completed, we are going to see some level of improvement in our process.
