St. Kitts and Nevis - Housing



The government has placed emphasis on planned housing development in order to conserve agricultural lands. The Central Housing Authority began a program of low-cost home construction in 1977. The water supply, which comes from mountain springs and deep wells, is controlled by the Water Department. In the early 1980s, roughly four-fifths of all dwellings were detached houses, with apartments and commercial buildings making up most of the remainder. Over half of all dwellings were owner occupied and about one-third were rented privately; the remainder were occupied rent free or rented from the government. The most common construction materials for housing were wood (50%), wood and concrete combined (25%), and concrete (20%).

In 1998, Hurricane Georges damaged 85% of the housing stock. In response, the government joined with USAID and the OAS to create a Housing Sector Recovery Plan which was meant to create a plan of action for repair and upgrading of existing housing, so that these structures might be better suited to withstand future storms. The government has also supported a number of other housing development plans sponsored in part by foreign investors, including the 2002 projects of the KOMLA Group of Companies of Guadeloupe and the CLICO Group of Barbados. These projects were community plans which included shopping locations, a medical center, recreation and park areas, as well as two- and three-bedroom homes. The same year, the Minister of Housing announced plans of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labor Party Administration to build 1,000 low-income homes in 2003 with an investment of EC $45 million. The Labor Party built 1,200 homes in 2000.

The CARIFESTA Housing Programme is an ongoing project of the government for construction and funding of new housing. In 2000, 130 two- and three-bedroom homes were constructed through the program. In 2002, the CARIFESTA Revolving Fund was established to offer loans of up to EC $80,000 to individual landowners hoping to build their own homes.

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