Hurricane-resistant Home Improvement in the OECSMaking low-income housing in the OECS safer and
environmentally sustainable NRDF Hurricane-resistant Home Improvement Program | Program Strengthening |
Throughout the Eastern Caribbean, most families live -- and many work -- in individual houses. In addition, these houses have become substantial assets for those families in the region who own their homes, and in particular for low-income homeowners. With few other resources available to rebuild or repair houses affected by natural or other hazards, damage to or loss of a home can leave a family homeless, out of work and in financial peril. In a hazard-prone and environmentally sensitive region such as the Caribbean, it is essential to properly account for these factors in the siting and construction details of a home to ensure the safety of the structure and its occupants and to minimize the impact of the building and its use on the surrounding environment. Property insurance can also limit the financial impact of hazard-related damage, however, low-income residents rarely have access to such insurance.
In St. Lucia, the National Research and Development Foundation (NRDF) offers a hurricane-resistant home improvement program (HRHIP) for low-income earners. This program trains local builders in safer construction, offers small loans to families wishing to upgrade their homes and provides the services of a trained building inspector who approves materials to be purchased, checks minimum standards. Low-income homeowners who have strengthened their homes through the HRHIP can obtain property insurance through the program. NRDF established the HRHIP in 1996, with the assistance of the USAID/OAS Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP), and has operated it continuously since its inception.
Between 1996 and November 2002, NRDF disbursed 345 loans under this housing program, with an average loan size of EC$11,000 (approximately US$4,100). The majority of these loans (68%) were for either extensions to existing structures or the construction of new structures. The remainder of the loans was for repairs and renovations, purchases or relocation of homes. While these loans are considered risky by traditional financial institutions, due to the level of earnings and lack of collateral on the part of the borrowers, repayment rates have been strong in the NRDF housing loan program. Over the life of this loan program, only 5 loans have had to be written off. The number of rescheduled loans has grown in recent years, however, reflecting the recent poor economic performance of the country.
In addition to making loan funding available to homeowners who would otherwise not have access to mortgage funds, the focus of the HRHIP is to assist low-income homeowners in retrofitting their homes to make them more resistant to the effects of tropical storms. In support of this objective, the program has provided training on safer building techniques to builders and artisans who construct lower income housing and has prepared minimum building standards for reference by both homeowners and builders. Assistance with drawing up the bill of materials and with quality control of the construction was originally provided by an estimator associated with the program and later was provided by the program's loan officers.
Use of the Safer Housing and
Building Standards |
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Loan Process
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Construction Quality Control
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Reference:
Guidelines for the Implementation of a Safer Housing and Retrofit
Program for Low-income Earners |
Reference:
Minimum Building Standards and Environmental Guidelines |
Interview and loan application phase
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Environmental Guidelines applied in site
review and site visit Minimum Building Standards applied in design
review and preparation of construction drawings |
Construction phase |
Minimum Building Standards and Environmental
Guidelines used as reference during site visits to review
construction quality |
Loan completion phase |
Minimum Building Standards checklist used to
ensure compliance and for issuance of Certificate of Completion |
By making homes stronger, these properties become a more attractive risk to property insurers. Through a local insurance broker, NRDF was able to establish a group-based insurance program that is available to all participants in the NRDF HRHIP program. In addition to providing coverage for damages, group-based insurance programs promote safer housing construction by requiring the implementation of hurricane-resistant retrofit measures for entry into the insurance scheme.
In the review of the safer housing program, the hiring of a full-time building officer was identified as a critical step to strengthening the construction quality control element of the program. The building officer position will be responsible for assisting the homeowner with the project plan and material selection to ensure the incorporation of safer building components; testing the selected builder for knowledge of safer building techniques; and inspecting the building during construction and upon completion for compliance with safer building standards. Initial funding for this position has been identified through an EU-funded housing program. NRDF added a full-time building officer to its staff in August 2003.
Assistance for the program review and strengthening was provide by the OAS, wit funding from the World Bank and the Government of Brazil.
Use of these materials: These documents were developed
with funding through the World Bank and copyright for it remains with this
institution. The materials developed under this project are intended for wide
use and distribution. To support wide use, this document may be extracted or
reproduced, as part of safer housing initiatives, provided that appropriate
acknowledgement of the source document and copyright holder is retained.
Last Updated 10 September 2003