162 / Annex I: Case Studies

Case Study 6:
Haut Damier New Settlement Project in Cabaret
A high-quality suburban rent-to-own development project

Background
Immediately after the earthquake, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) committed
to building 15,000 new housing units for earthquake-affected families. USAID’s “New Settlements
Project” was registered with the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) in early 2011 for $53.3
million, which was later increased to approximately $90 million.

Projects in the program included the 750-unit Caracol-EKAM site near the Northern Industrial Park, as
well as projects in the municipalities of Cabaret, Quartier Morin, Terrer Rouge, and Titanyen.

Approach
USAID partnered with the Haitian government and the International Federation of the Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to develop the Haut Damier project in the commune of Cabaret,
along National Route 1. The development includes 156 housing units for displaced families and other
vulnerable households.

The land for the community was provided by the government, and both national and local officials were
extensively consulted during the siting and design of the project.

Each house is built on a 112 m2 plot, has a gross area of 42.8 m2, and can be expanded with another
room and a second floor. The site includes flush sanitation, piped water into each home (serviced by
an on-site well and water tower), solar street lighting, electrical infrastructure to facilitate household-
level electrical connections, and roads and footpaths.

The houses were occupied beginning in September 2013. The residents of the Haut Damier project
include former residents of internally displaced person (IDP) camps managed by the IFRC and
earthquake-affected families living in the vicinity of the site. The IFRC, in conjunction with Entreprise
Publique pour le Logement Social (EPPLS), assisted with final beneficiary selection and provided
social, economic, and governance support to the families for approximately 18 months after they
moved in. Together, EPPLS and the IFRC ensured that residents understood and complied with
arrangements for payment of rent and utilities.

EPPLS is charged with collecting rents and providing maintenance on the site until residents become
homeowners (currently proposed to take place after five years). The arrangement is similar to the
“rent-to-own” scheme in other EPPLS projects.