Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure, Jay Ebanks, has confirmed that 1,152 active applications are on the affordable housing waiting list as of 30 September.
This figure from the National Housing Development Trust (NHDT), which falls under Ebanks’ ministry, represents about 2,200 Caymanians waiting to own a home in the Cayman Islands.
When asked in parliament on 16 October for the average wait time for allocation, he said he did not have the exact time “at the moment … it goes back past five years”.
Ebanks said the government must deliver the homes and find a way to do so as quickly as possible.
He stressed that the NHDT “cannot build themselves out of this problem that we have” and that the private sector must “come back and fill this opportunity”.
The minister suggested that the NHDT and the government need to move towards more public–private partnerships to increase the pace of building.
He noted that a lack of contractors filling the gap for middle and lower-class homes has resulted in more high-end homes being built.
Ebanks said that the government “is going to have to play its heavy role into this” particularly for those that “really cannot even qualify for some of the homes that we have now at today’s price”.
He added: “We got to make sure that people can afford them at the same time. We got to make sure that the banks are willing to do the buy-in with them and lend the money to these people.”
The ministry is currently looking at new developments, with plans to start building homes on the Apple Blossom Gardens site in West Bay, followed by George Town, and then moving towards the eastern side of the island.
It is also seeking more land in the Bodden Town and Savannah areas.
Just two hours before his statement, Ebanks said he received a message from an individual with property for sale in Bodden Town that they believe “is perfect for housing”.
He confirmed that the government has completed a housing policy “and we will be rolling out that housing policy very shortly here”.
The minister said at least 10 contractors and developers have already come forward with interest in helping the government deliver on the homes.
He also confirmed that the housing policy “absolutely” will be made public and expects it to be released by the end of this year.
Ebanks also said a 25-acre property near the Linford Pierson area in George Town, which belongs to the NHDT, was bought for affordable housing and will be used for that purpose.
