NHT fraud

The National Housing Trust has warned the public that persons are fabricating employment records and NHT contribution histories to fraudulently qualify for housing benefits, mortgage loans, and government-subsidised units intended for legitimate contributors.

Scammers are creating fraudulent social media pages, WhatsApp messages, and fake websites that impersonate the National Housing Trust and Ministry of Housing to advertise non-existent government housing lotteries, collecting “application fees” from low-income Jamaicans who believe they are entering a legitimate housing programme.

Mortgage brokers play a legitimate role in Jamaica’s home finance market, connecting borrowers with lenders and facilitating loan applications. However, unscrupulous operators presenting themselves as mortgage brokers have defrauded homebuyers with fabricated pre-approval letters, excessive upfront fees for services never rendered, and referrals to non-existent or unauthorised lenders.

The National Housing Trust provides mortgage financing and direct housing benefits to qualifying contributors in Jamaica. As one of the country’s primary mechanisms for enabling homeownership, the NHT is also a target for benefit fraud: schemes in which contributors, sellers, or intermediaries abuse the application process to extract benefits for properties or transactions that do not meet the scheme’s eligibility requirements.