March 2017 | Business View Caribbean

118 119 The Housing & Land Development Corporation as project manager, technical supervisor, and we in turn sub-contract to smaller contractors to build one, two or three bedroom timber or block and concrete houses. A com- posite option of timber with block and concrete is also avail- able. In some cases land is subdivided and sold at the prices set by the Government.The optimal implementation mechanism is to develop land and build houses and then provide these finished properties, ready for occupancy, to the target market. Alternatively, privately owned land for clients within the target market of lower to lower-middle income,may be offered the option of constructing our style of housing,which is a standard design, on that private property.” In order to become a client of the HLDC, an individual must go through an application process that examines particulars of income, occupation, references, etc.“Income categories deter- AT A GLANCE The Housing & Land Development Corporation WHAT: A state-owned enterprise, reporting to the Ministry of Housing WHERE: Kingstown, St. Vincent WEBSITE: www.housing.gov.vc/ housing/index.php?option= com_content&view=arti- cle&id=19&Itemid=5 the management team mine the housing type provided within the ini- tiatives of the No-Income, Low Income and 100% Mortgage facility”.The Government’s Housing Policy is encompassed in these three headings. “The applications are logged and collated in a database,”he continues.“Generally, because we pool them by geographic location, an applicant for a particular location, if a project comes up for that location, can be ‘short-listed,’ and may receive an offer for land purchase only or a house built on the land.”Unfortunately,Alleyne admits that there is limited land for housing development on the islands and because its programs are over- subscribed, some people must wait years for an opportunity. Nonetheless, over the last ten to fifteen years, the HLDC has built upwards of 1,200 no-income, low-income, and lower-middle-income houses all over St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The devel- opments from 2001 onward are sited at Brigh-