After years of planning, Suriname’s 2019 National Housing Fund Act has officially entered into force, marking the formal establishment of the fund’s new governing board and the launch of a national initiative to expand access to affordable, quality housing for a wide cross-section of Surinamese households. The policy rollout, which introduced the National Housing Program Suriname (NaHuSur), took place at the Reeberg development project, where fund director Anushka Ramjielal outlined the eligibility criteria, loan terms, and structural requirements for properties financed under the new scheme.
Ramjielal emphasized that the fund is targeted specifically at Surinamese residents across low, middle, and upper-income brackets who are seeking to build, purchase, or renovate their first family home. To qualify for a subsidized housing loan, applicants must meet several core requirements: they must be legal adults, hold Surinamese citizenship, not own any other residential property directly or indirectly, and have never previously received a housing loan from another domestic financial institution. Exceptions to the prior loan rule are only granted in cases of officially documented emergency or force majeure.
Loan amounts and interest rates are structured on a sliding scale tied to a household’s combined net monthly income, to ensure accessibility for lower-income groups. For households falling into Category A Group 1, with combined net monthly incomes between 12,000 and 20,000 Surinamese dollars (SRD), loans carry a fixed 3% annual interest rate, with a maximum borrowing limit of SRD 750,000 per borrower. Households in Category A Group 2, with incomes ranging from 20,000 to 35,000 SRD per month, qualify for loans with a 5% interest rate and a maximum principal of SRD 1.2 million.
Beyond individual homebuyers and builders, the National Housing Fund also extends financing to registered non-profit housing corporations, classified under Category B, for the development of rental and rent-to-own properties. The Stichting Volkshuisvesting (People’s Housing Foundation) qualifies for 3% interest loans, with a maximum permitted construction cost of SRD 750,000 per unit. All other registered non-profit housing corporations receive a 5% interest rate, with a cap of SRD 1.2 million per housing unit.
To support scalable, affordable development, the legislation sets clear structural standards for all properties built with fund financing, including requirements for so-called “grow homes” – modular homes designed to be expanded incrementally as households’ needs change. In the first construction phase, a grow home must have a minimum floor area of 28 square meters. All properties must be designed to allow expansion in at least two separate phases, with the full final layout pre-approved and documented in the original construction blueprints.
Maximum total floor area limits also apply, aligned with income and borrower category. For individual Group 1 borrowers and the Stichting Volkshuisvesting, the maximum permitted total floor area is 75 square meters. For Group 2 individual borrowers and other registered non-profit housing corporations, the maximum floor area is capped at 90 square meters.
Ramjielal called on all eligible prospective home seekers to submit applications for the program, noting that all loan applications will be processed and disbursed through local commercial banks, which will handle the distribution of application forms and initial intake. Interested applicants will need to complete and submit standardized forms through their chosen local bank to begin the review process. Looking ahead, the fund is currently developing its own dedicated public website and regular newsletter, which will provide ongoing updates to Surinamese citizens about the fund’s operations, application procedures, and the status of pending loan requests.