Housing Development Corporation (HDC) managing director Jearlean John is calling on tenants with License To Occupy (LTO) and Rent To Own (RTO) arrangements to stop panicking and visit the HDC to discuss their concerns and fears.
John’s statement comes one day after the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) told tenants who had received ‘Notice of Completion’ letters from the HDC that the union was ready to represent them, as the letters were an injustice to the working class.
In an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, John said tenants now had the option to bypass outside financial institutions and go directly to the HDC for internal financing, if they did not qualify for a mortgage elsewhere.
“If a client cannot afford a mortgage after eight years of being on an RTO or LTO, they need to come to us and say that,” John said.
“If you sit and play hide and seek that doesn’t help you. Come to us, if all else fails we can make an application to the board for internal financing.”
John admitted, however, that letters of completion sent out in March had caused some confusion among tenants, even leading some to believe they could be evicted from their homes.
“People did not understand their letters. They think the HDC is trying to do something wrong to them. Because of this we drafted a new letter to clients explaining everything to them fully and inviting them again to the HDC. I don’t know how again to tell people, to come to us.”
John sent a draft copy of the letter to the T&T Guardian. She also explained the terms of the RTO and the LTO agreements, saying that each had a maximum time span of eight years.
“With an LTO, the client is approved for a mortgage but the site is not vested by the HDC. But whatever the client pays monthly, 90 per cent of that goes toward your mortgage and the other 10 per cent to the HDC.
“With an RTO, 66.6 per cent goes to the mortgage and 33.3 per cent goes to the HDC until the applicant can qualify for a mortgage, within the eight years.”
Tenants: it’s not fair
The T&T Guardian yesterday spoke to several people who received letters of ‘Notice of Completion,’ on the condition of anonymity, as they all feared victimisation.
One single mother who brings in a monthly income of $3,400, revealed that over a year ago she was rejected by the T&T Mortgage Finance Company (TTMF) as she did not meet the requirements for a mortgage.
“They wrote me before, since last year, and said to come in and check if I qualify. But my husband was sick and my salary was small, so I could not qualify,” she said. “They never sent me anything until now. My husband died recently and I don’t want to lose my home.”
The woman, who is 50, said she had been paying $1,100 per month on a License to Occupy (LTO) agreement for the past eight years.
“So if I don’t qualify for a mortgage that means I will never own anything? I won’t have anything to show for my life when I retire?”
Lamenting that she once believed HDC housing was created to assist poor people, she said: “I can’t sleep at the night. What happens next to me? I will have to go in a man house and that is how abuse starts. What are they doing if they are trying to help the people at large?”
Another woman said she too had been invited to the TTMF to talk about her mortgage, but had never heard back from them.
“They took all my documents and everything and said they would call but they never did. Now I have this letter telling me I have 30 days. I just don’t understand what is going on,” she said.
She said while she could afford to pay a mortgage on her current salary, $5,200 per month, every year that passed made it harder for her to qualify for one.
“I’m already 48. If this thing takes another couple of years to finalise, which financial institution do you think will give me a mortgage?”
Both women said they would go to the HDC’s office on Monday to query their arrangements.