People who owned and lived in homes in Booby Alley will receive replacement homes regardless of the value of their former properties, while landlords and tenants will face different arrangements, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said Saturday.

Speaking on the Browne and Browne Show, Browne outlined distinctions between the groups following Cabinet discussions on the housing redevelopment in Antigua and Barbuda.

“For example, those homeowners who are living in Booby Alley, no matter the value of the homes, they’re going to get a replacement home,” he said.

Browne said some owner-occupied chattel properties were worth approximately $20,000 to $30,000, but their owners would receive replacement units valued at approximately $150,000 to $200,000.

He distinguished those households from people who owned properties that were rented to others, saying a low-value rental property would not automatically entitle its owner to a substantially more valuable replacement unit.

“Those who had chattel properties that were renting, they’re not owner-occupied,” he said.

Browne said the government could not justify giving a new unit outright to someone whose former property was worth about $20,000 and generated approximately $200 a month in rent, because that property was being used commercially.

For rental property owners, he outlined a valuation requirement under which the former property would have to be worth at least half the cost of a new unit. The owner could then obtain a unit by paying the difference.

As an example, Browne said someone with a rental property valued at $75,000 could receive a $150,000 unit and pay the remaining $75,000.

He also indicated that owners of higher-value rental properties could receive replacement units without the same additional payment. However, he did not give a precise qualifying threshold for that category during the discussion.

Browne described the approach as an effort to balance compensation against the value of the property previously owned.

“What we don’t want is to opportunistically give people value without the corresponding equity that they had,” he said.

“So we’re trying to create a balance here. We’re not trying to disenfranchise anyone.”

The prime minister also addressed residents in homes on Bay Street and another nearby street, saying some had expressed a desire to remain where they were. For those households, he said, a straight swap could be arranged.

He separately stressed that people who had been tenants would not automatically become homeowners through the redevelopment.

“Those who are renting, they will have to continue to pay rent because they never owned the property,” Browne said.

“We’ll set the rent within their means, so we’re not going to disenfranchise them.”

When a panel member suggested rent-to-own arrangements for former tenants, Browne acknowledged the option but said the government preferred mortgages.

“Our preference is to go for mortgages. So for the most part, we’ll be doing mortgages,” he said.

“If you were renting before and you now want to get a mortgage, we’ll do a mortgage.”

His explanation therefore set out separate routes: replacement homes for resident homeowners, valuation-based arrangements for landlords, and continued affordable rental or mortgage opportunities for tenants.

Browne did not announce rental rates, mortgage interest rates, repayment periods or the process for assessing individual property values during the exchange.

He also said people in the diaspora who had expressed interest in the development could be considered if units remained available after other housing needs were addressed.

“If we end up with any available ones, we can accommodate them,” he said.

On the project’s progress, Browne said the Chinese would hand over the facility on Thursday, Oct. 15, although landscaping remained to be completed.

He said the government was also considering fencing the compound after observing people using it as a shortcut.

The handover timetable was discussed separately from the housing allocation terms, and Browne did not give a date during the programme for residents to move into their units.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Booby Alley residents who owned and lived in their homes will get replacement homes regardless of value, Browne says.