The government-owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO) has again started offering individual home loans at lending rates as low as 8.5 per cent.

“We have revived HUDCO ‘Niwas’. Earlier, we used to give individual housing loans. It was stopped around two years back. This year we have started providing loans to individuals,” V P Baligar, Chairman and Managing Director, HUDCO said here today.

“Interest rate is least in the country at 10 per cent. If you belong to the economically weaker section category, you get it for 8.5 per cent,” he added.

Commenting on the earlier policy of lending across the country, Baligar said, “There was difficulty in collecting cheques and other things.”

“Unfortunately, earlier we used to lend anywhere in the country, in any urban area or rural area... Monitoring was very difficult. Now, we limit our operations only to the state headquarters,” he said.

“Earlier we could even give Rs 50 lakhs-60 lakhs, any amount. Now we have limited it to only Rs 25 lakh, because we want to concentrate on EWS, low income group and middle income group,” Baligar said.

He explained that the decision to focus on low-price segment houses was taken because private banks were meeting the requirements in the higher price segments.

Baligar said that HUDCO would be able to meet a substantial amount of demand for home loans. “We also have tie ups with banks and if there is more requirement, we can immediately borrow it and give it,” Baligar said.

He said banks are willing to give loans to HUDCO as it was rated AA plus by Fitch.

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