The government is seeking a consultant to help create and update a national public and affordable housing policy and 10-year strategic plan.
A request for tender was published on the government’s public purchasing portal on 13 June and applicants have until 17 July to register their interest.
“The policy and plan will serve as the guiding document to alleviate and solve the housing and sheltering challenges for our most vulnerable,” the accompanying details say.
They will also help to find solutions “to decrease the gap between Caymanians and their ability to purchase affordable homes in innovative ways that consider our unique culture”.
According to the portal, creation of the policy and plan should begin on 21 Aug. and take eight to 12 months to complete, but the timetable is tentative.
The consultant is expected to conduct extensive research aligned with best-in-class and best practices in any regional and international frameworks for housing.
They must also review existing legislation, data and information for housing in the Cayman Islands.
Longstanding issues and challenges impacting housing in the Cayman Islands are required to be included in the documents.
These include access to capital, high construction costs, limited access to land, no policies or legislation to protect and encourage Caymanian homeownership, and inadequate social-economic planning.
And detailed short, medium and long-term solutions for addressing the housing challenges and increasing Caymanian homeownership must be included in the 10-year strategic plan.
‘Transparent and inclusive’
The policy must take into consideration affordability, social and public housing, and development planning in a sustainable manner, the job description says.
It should also include a proposed implementation plan with timelines, alternatives and indicative costs, resources and allocated budget required.
The consultant will be expected to engage with the public and stakeholders “in a transparent and inclusive way” in order to create the documents.
“Public and stakeholders’ feedback is essential to ensure practical and viable policy actions are considered, incorporated, and agreed upon,” the government portal says.
“The goal is to give stakeholders ownership of the policy and strategic plan and for it to be used as a tangible tool to guide the work for housing.”
At the conclusion of the stakeholder consultations, the consultant will be required to present a draft of the policy and plan to the housing ministry.
This will then go to government caucus and Cabinet.
Following discussions and adjustments, a final draft will then be presented to the public, before heading back to the ministry and Cabinet for approval.
The Compass reached out to the Ministry of Planning, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure for further details and is awaiting a response.
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I was involved in the affordable housing industry for many years.
The obvious issues are the cost of housing.
There is no shortage of buildable land in Grand Cayman. We have a low housing density.
The biggest challenges are the cost of construction. Say $200 per sq.ft. for pleasant, not luxury homes. Thus a 1,000 sq.ft. home will cost $200,000 to build. Plus land cost. Say a minimum of $30,000 for a total of $230,000.
A buyer would need a down payment of about $30-50,000.
And even with a 6% p.a. mortgage the annual payments will be around $20,000 per year.
How to reduce this?
1. Smaller homes. Modular homes that are pre-built. Even container homes.
2. Lower per sq.ft. construction costs. At present the builder of a luxury hotel or condos can negotiate reduced import duties on construction materials. But these reductions are not available to the builders of more affordable homes.
3. Less expensive land. While land to the east is less expensive the traffic to get to work is appalling. Improve public transport and install overpasses at the big bottlenecks and the 1 1/2 commute could be halved.
4. Government help with down payments. Partnership with banks and developers.