When more contributors want houses in a National Housing Trust development than there are units, the Trust ranks them. The NHT points system, formally the Priority Index Entitlement or PIE, is that ranking. It rewards people who have contributed longer and gives an advantage to lower earners.
How points are earned
There are two main ingredients.
- Contribution points: 20 points for every 52 weeks of contributions. Ten years of steady contributions produces 200 points.
- Income points: a one-off allocation that falls as income rises. Applicants earning from minimum wage to J$30,000.99 a week receive 110 points; J$30,001 to J$42,000.99, 90 points; J$42,001 to J$100,000.99, 80 points; and J$100,001 and above, 70 points.
Applicants are first shortlisted using factors that include whether they live or work in the parish of the development and how many weekly contributions they have made, then ranked by total points. If the top-ranked person cannot afford the unit or turns it down, it moves to the next.
Practical points
Only the main applicant’s points are counted, so co-applicants should put the person with the higher score first. Contributions an employer deducted but never paid over may not count, which can cost an applicant points; checking the record on NHT Online before a scheme opens is sensible.
A parent of up to 70 who has contributed for more than ten years, has never had an NHT loan and has not taken all their refunds can assign their points to one child who has never received a housing benefit. Contributors aged 35 and under also benefit from a minimum share of units, at least 20% of each development since July 2026, and some units are reserved for public-sector workers and persons with disabilities.
What it does not decide
Points matter for scheme units and some grants. They do not set how much you can borrow or the interest rate for an open market purchase; those depend on income, age and the loan limits.
Social housing in the UK and Canada uses similar priority banding, though there it usually weighs housing need rather than contribution history.
Related terms: NHT Housing Scheme, NHT Scheme Unit, NHT Home Grant, NHT Loan Eligibility, NHT benefit, NHT.
Accurate as at October 2026. Points values are set by the NHT and can change.
