Senior Reporter
kay-marie.fletcher@guardian.co.tt
As the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) continued its debt-collection drive to recover outstanding monies from tenants who have been owing for extended periods, there are claims that some of those being evicted are struggling to make ends meet.
HDC announced on Tuesday that it will be conducting eviction exercises in housing developments across the country including Chaconia Crescent in Diego Martin, Cypress Hills, Union Hall in San Fernando, Hilltop Villas in Malick, Barataria and Real Spring in Valsayn.
At Vieux Fort in St James where some evictions took place, tenants complained that the HDC had targeted single-parent households. An occupant of a Building B unit told Guardian Media three single-parent households were evicted on Tuesday.
“Some people are single parents. COVID came, they didn’t work for two, three years. Some people are struggling and you might think they are living Vieux Fort they have a lot of money, but people don’t have money. I guess HDC had no choice but it’s still hard and heartbreaking to see,” said the woman who did not want to be identified.
Another resident said: “One of the women who got evicted, she is a single parent with three children and she really was struggling. She working in a cafeteria paying her $500 a week. She wanted to pay her rent but how could she with children to send to school, with other bills to pay? So it was really hard to see. I know some people really haven’t been paying their rent but Peter pay for Paul and Paul pay for all.”
A tenant who narrowly escaped eviction on Tuesday said she had to ask family and friends to help her accumulate $23,000 to pay off half of her arrears. She showed Guardian Media a letter from Asset Management Company Limited, a subsidiary of HDC, giving her six months to pay off the remaining arrears.
She said after moving into her rental unit in Vieux Fort in February 2019, she had no problems paying the $1800 monthly rent for her three-bedroom unit. However, a year later when the pandemic hit, she ran into difficulties paying her rent.
“I am self-employed. I am a nail tech. When the pandemic came, I couldn’t work. I am a single parent. I have two children and I had also just gotten a vehicle as well, so I had to make a decision on which bills I was going to pay for during the pandemic and truth be told, I still had to pay utilities, buy groceries and pay my car loan.
“Now that the pandemic is done, I’ve been trying to pay lump sums but it wasn’t enough. It’s not like you didn’t want to pay. I’ve been paying my rent and the additional (arrears) but they wanted a lump sum of money up front. It’s not that you just don’t want to pay. You weren’t in a situation to pay it. When you could pay, you pay. But, when you can’t pay, what will you do?”
“No trespassing” signs were placed on the doors of three units at Vieux Fort and the locks on the front doors had been replaced. Broken chairs, slippers, cups and clothing were strewn in and around the apartments.
Some Vieux Fort tenants complained that there are several issues that HDC needs to address, including water shortages, mould problems, damaged tiles and inadequate security.
At Chaconia Crescent in Diego Martin, some residents who pay mortgages claimed the tenants who rent apartments are the ones causing issues for everyone. Some have been unable to pay $1500 in rent for three-bedroom units.
Contacted for comment, Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said the HDC will continue evicting customers who do not pay their rent and mortgages. She said some tenants owe HDC more than $80,000.
“We are ensuring that the persons who owe the HDC do pay, and those who are not paying, unfortunately, we do have to evict them.”
“Someone was evicted today (Thursday) I think it was and she owes $82,000 and we can’t allow that. It is because of tenants paying their mortgages or paying their rental that we are able to keep the housing programme going consistently,” Robinson-Regis said
She said HDC’s current exercise will also be able to identify persons who are illegally occupying housing units.