Some applicants for Housing Development Corporation (HDC) units believe that the recent lottery draw used to generate names for houses may not be fair to those who have been on a waiting list for decades. Speaking in an interview after going to the HDC’s South Quay, Port-of-Spain headquarters for their interview packages yesterday, some applicants admitted that while they had been fortunate to benefit from the lottery draw, they were feeling it for those who have been waiting for several years without success.
Katrina Lewis, who is a document processor at the Office of the Attorney General and lives in Laventille, said the lottery system has its pros and cons. “It has its ups and downs. I thought that they would have chosen from a group that was waiting 30 years, another waiting about 15 years and those who have been waiting more recently. There are some people who have been waiting for many years,” she said.
The applicants began collecting interview packages on Saturday, continued doing so yesterday and will continue next weekend during the hours of 9 am to 4 pm at the HDC. The packages contain dates for the applicants to return for their interviews, expected to begin next weekend, as well as the requirements for gaining a unit. Some 500 applicants were selected to receive housing units during a lottery draw on April 15.
Speaking at the lottery draw two weeks ago, Housing Minister Roodal Moonilal said more than 160,000 applications exist in the HDC’s database and while not everyone could be accommodated, he assured that the random lottery afforded everyone an equal chance at being selected. He said under the current system, 60 per cent of applicants would be randomly selected, 25 per cent would be selected based on ministerial discretion, ten per cent allocated for the protective services and five per cent to senior citizens and physically challenged people.
Yesterday, Lewis said she had been waiting for 17 years to be called for an interview and was “pretty excited” about the prospect of owning her own home. “I was totally speechless when I got the news. I applied for an HDC house when I was 18 years old. “I am 35 years now and the day has finally arrived for me. For two years they had been telling me that my name is pending on the list,” she said.
Clint Gomez, from San Fernando, echoed the sentiment that the lottery system has its ups and downs. “In a way it is fair and also it is unfair. Some people recently applied for a house and others applied many years ago, yet through the lottery system everyone has the same equal chance. But it is the right of the HDC to use a system that is best for them.” He said the price of housing in T&T was out of reach for most ordinary citizens and that anyone who gets an HDC house should consider himself or herself lucky.
Susan Mahadeo has been waiting for an HDC house for 13 years. “I really did not expect this. I have a family and waited for many years,” she said. Christal Chan-Ramsaran, an accounts assistant from Oropune Gardens, Piarco, said this was her second time being called for an interview and she hopes she will hit gold this time.
“I have been waiting for a house for ten years. I was interviewed two years ago and I was not successful. I hoping that this time I meet all the requirements to obtain a house.” She said she believes the present housing market keeps ordinary working people from accessing a house and called house prices “ridiculous.”
“Getting a house these days is a far-fetched dream for any ordinary person and is not something that people feel that they could achieve, so getting an HDC house is really good,” Chan-Ramsaran said. Her husband is a taxidriver and she said the HDC has a long list of criteria one must meet in order to get a house. “They want to see what your salary is, where you work, if you already own property and a lot of other things. Two years ago I did not get through, this time I am hoping for the best,” she said.