Gimme gimme in housing

IT IS scandalous, in our view, for the Government to tolerate the delinquency of persons who benefit from low-cost housing and still refuse to pay their subsidised rents and mortgages. Housing Minister Dr Keith Rowley referred to this vexing situation on Monday when he spoke at the sod-turning to start UdeCOTT’s Lady Young Road Garden apartment project. We were somewhat disappointed in the supplicatory tone adopted by the usually candid and forthright Minister who, instead of issuing ultimatums, has appealed to existing and future tenants to pay their rents on time.

Although he is relatively new to the Housing portfolio, Dr Rowley must know that this is a problem of long standing, largely encouraged by the lax policy of the National Housing Authority (NHA). The records will show that many persons have been occupying NHA apartments for years without paying a red cent in rent, although the monthly payments are little more than a nominal amount. This kind of official permissiveness encourages a widespread form of slackness and irresponsibility and justifies criticism of the Government for fostering the “gimme gimme syndrome.” Minister Rowley points out that even though rental units are affordably priced, there are tenants owing as much as $24,000 in rent. “This figure,” he adds, “at a rental of $200 per month, is not one that developed overnight. We are appealing to you to make your payments.”

What the Housing Minister has revealed, in our view, is a gross and intolerable situation. It means that the NHA has kept tenants in their apartments who have not paid any rent for ten years, although their obligations were a ridiculous $200 a month! Where in the realm of private housing can anyone obtain an apartment for $200 a month? Yet these NHA tenants are allowed to brutally exploit their good fortune by paying nothing for years and years, with apparent impunity. Proper shelter is one of the amenities of civilised living and members of the adult population, particularly those with families, should consider its aquisition a vital responsibility and compulsive priority. In the area of private housing, citizens set aside a considerable portion of their income or their resources to either rent or purchase their homes. The discipline makes for a healthy and productive society; many, in fact, make considerable sacrifices to achieve this important objective.

It is an outrage, then, to have persons who are fortunate enough to benefit from the low-cost or low-rental housing provided by the Government abusing the privilege by ignoring their obligation to meet minimal monthly payments which are, in effect, subsidised by the country’s taxpayers. Dr Rowley made his appeal at the official start of a $75 million project to build 284 two-bedroom apartments at Lady Young Road. But this is only part of his ministry’s massive billion-dollar programme to adequately house the nation. The effort, of course, is a commendable and urgently needed initiative but it would be an exercise in gross inequity if the old policy of laxity and permisiveness remains the same. In his ministry’s current drive to recover outstanding payments we expect to see a decisive change in dealing with defaulters.