Trinidad and Tobago’s Housing Minister David Lee has issued a stern warning against squatting in government-subsidized housing properties, declaring such actions will face zero tolerance from authorities. The minister’s comments came during a January 4 press conference at the UNC headquarters in Chaguanas, where he addressed growing concerns about unauthorized occupation of Housing Development Corporation (HDC) units.
The crackdown follows a recent incident in Corinth where a family who had made payments for an HDC home discovered strangers attempting to occupy their property weeks before they were scheduled to receive keys. The couple filed an official police report on December 29 after being alerted to the unauthorized entry at their Riverside South townhouse near San Fernando.
Minister Lee revealed that similar squatting attempts have emerged across multiple HDC settlements, including areas within his Caroni Central constituency. He strongly contested previous statements by former housing minister Camille Robinson-Regis suggesting the UNC administration permitted such activities. Lee emphasized that HDC chairman Feeroz Khan had never endorsed squatting in government housing.
Producing documented evidence of squatting cases within HDC files, Lee asserted that neither he, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, nor the HDC would tolerate such ‘lawlessness.’ He warned potential squatters that law enforcement and HDC security divisions would collaborate to ensure only legally entitled occupants reside in government properties.
Simultaneously, HDC chairman Khan disclosed significant financial challenges within the corporation, including over $600 million in outstanding payments to contractors. Khan criticized previous construction management practices under the PNM administration, alleging that houses worth approximately $500,000 were being constructed at costs nearing $2 million each. He claimed this benefited PNM associates and financiers while costing taxpayers millions in overpayments to contractors, including one instance of a $10 million overpayment.
Despite these challenges, Khan assured the public that HDC has developed a recovery plan that includes increasing affordable housing production to bridge the gap between housing demand and availability.