Complaints Over Painful Bottlenecks In Homeownership Process Dominate Townhall on VIHA Annual Plan

In a town-hall meeting hosted by the Senate Committee on Housing, Transportation, and Telecommunications on Wednesday evening, residents of the Virgin Islands voiced their frustrations and concerns about the bottlenecks and obstacles they face in transitioning from public housing to homeownership.

The meeting was designed to discuss the V.I. Housing Authority's 2024 annual plan and allowed residents to directly address their grievances, many of which highlighted systemic issues making homeownership painfully difficult to attain.

Committee Chair Marvin Blyden, in his opening remarks, addressed the move, which he said many might find unusual. “Why, you may ask, is the Committee on Housing doing this? After all, this is a housing plan, not the Legislature’s. The short answer to that – I believe this is a way to assist the Housing Authority, and the public, in developing a plan that best meets the needs of our people," he said.

Many of the questions and concerns of the evening came from the Williams Delight community, members of which were particularly vocal about their seeming inability, after years of effort, to transition from being residents of public housing to homeowners

One member of the Williams Delight Resident Council, Ms. Maynard, wanted to know whether any special consideration would be given to Williams Delight residents who have been on a waiting list to purchase their homes for up to a decade in some instances. She was concerned that because they, over the years, have become what authorities would deem “over-income”, they would be in danger of losing their homes under a new federal policy, despite it being no fault of theirs that they are still tenants of the VIHA.