Jamaica: Landlord and Tenant

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Last Updated: Nov 29, 2007

Jamaican pro-landlord luxury market

Pro-landlord luxury market

Jamaican law is PRO-TENANT, but there is a big gap between formal law and real-world practice, which in high-end rentals often ignores formal law.

Rents: Can landlord and tenant freely agree rents in Jamaica?

The Rent Assessment Board sets the rental for all commercial and residential premises.

The landlord must make an application to the Assessment Officer of the Board . The latter sends a Valuation Officer to inspect the rental property. The Assessment Officer issues a Certificate of Assessed Rent, which contains the standard rent applicable to the premises.

The standard rent is an annual percentage of the assessed value of the premises and is prescribed by the Minister . The current rent ceiling is 7.5% each year.The Board takes into consideration any increases in property taxes, improvements to the property and other related factors.

Any illegal increases in rent can be recovered by the tenant, or deducted by him from the rent.

Increases in rent are allowed under the following conditions :

Substantial improvements or structural alterations in the premises
Substantial improvements to the amenities, or in the locality
Increases in rates and taxes (other than water and sewer rates)
As may be ordered by the Minister

Deposits

It is illegal to require a deposit . If the landlord has required one, the tenant may recover such payment. However, the Rent Board has announced that there would be amendments to the rent law which includes the provision for the payment of security deposits.

What rights do landlords and tenants have in Jamaica, especially as to duration of contract, and eviction?

Leases can be short-term or long-term.

Even after the termination of the lease, a tenant can only be evicted if

The tenant has not paid rent for at least 30 days after it became due.
Breach of tenancy agreement such as
- Using or allowing the premises to be used for purposes other than that agreed by the two parties.
The tenant has given notice to quit, and in consequence, the landlord has taken steps as a result of which he would be seriously prejudiced if he could not obtain possession.
The rental property is seriously required by the landlord such as
- Using the premises for residential purposes by him or his family.
- Using the premises for business, trade or professional purposes.
The tenant fails to accept within a reasonable time an offer of new tenancy at a higher rent by the landlord.

A notice to quit must be issued to the tenant, stating a valid reason. The tenant shall then be given 30 days to vacate the property. However, an extension can be requested from the court. A landlord cannot evict a tenant without a court order.

The landlord may file charges if the tenant refuses to surrender the property and the extension has already expired. Even if this situation has occurred, the tenant remains protected against harassment by the landlord or any of his representatives.

How effective is the Jamaican legal system?

The Rent Assessment Board receives and settles landlord-tenant disputes. In practice, the Rent Restriction Act applies mainly to low-rent housing. High-end landlords have ways of bypassing the formal law, e.g. evicting tenants by claiming the property is required for their own use.

The Board has a 95% settlement rate and hardly has to refer cases to the courts. Those that are referred to the courts mostly involve security deposits. Among the 4503 complaints received by the Board during the period of April 2003 to March 2004, 4000 have been settled, according to the Jamaican Information Service. Most complaints to the Board are about illegal increases, arrears in rental and harassment.

Landlords who have difficulty with tenants, especially on the matter of arrears in rental where tenants refuse or have not paid their rent for over 30 days, prefer to lodge their complaint to the Board rather than the court. The court is a bit tardy in dealing with these cases whereas the Board can arrange a meeting between the two parties within the next 5-6 days to settle the issue.

Enforcement of court rulings takes an average of 14 calendar days.

EVICTION FOR NON-PAYMENT OF RENT
Duration until completion of service of process	45
Duration of trial	46
Duration of enforcement	14
Total Days to Evict Tenant	105
Courts: The Lex Mundi Project

Legislation

Rental agreements can be verbal or written. The Rent Restriction Act of 1944 governs the relationship between the landlord and the tenant. The Rent Restriction Act is being amended to ensure the playing field is level between the landlord and the tenant.

Brief history: Recent changes in Jamaican landlord and tenant law

Since the establishment of the Rent Assessment Board in 1944 to address problems encountered by landlords and tenants, the only major change was the closure of the regional offices of the Board resulting in a backlog of cases. To address mounting concern, a new board has been formed with island-wide scope. The board will have members drawn from various parishes to prevent persons residing in rural areas having to travel to the city of Kingston. In other words, the new board aims to speed up the process of settling rent disputes and enhance convenience to both parties concerned.

In 2004 it was announced that the Rent Restriction Act will be amended to give birth to a new Rent Board tasked to strike a greater balance between in the protection of tenant’s rights (now strongly protected) and property owner’s return on investments (now weakly protected). Some of the proposed amendments are:

Renaming the Act to reflect its new, more balanced role
Removing rent control from public and commercial buildings
Setting minimum standards for premises
Legalizing security deposits
Establishing a rent tribunal to deal with all rental cases
Increasing fines and penalties for breaches of the Act.

A recent development in strata units is the petition of Jamaica Association of Strata Corporations (JASC) to seek jail terms for delinquent apartment owners with outstanding maintenance fees. The Association believes that the courts should have the power to force rent money to be diverted to pay for overdue maintenance fees, and be able to pursue delinquent landlords overseas. The Association also wants violations of certain strata housing regulations to be addressed, such as proprietors allowing the establishment of informal or small businesses in their units.

Jamaica - more data and information

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Your Comments

posted by joseph coat | 2007-02-10

health aide, canada

Dear Sir Iam not sure when this rent board came on board but from what ican see there ihas been no improvement for anyone over the years.To prevent the same problems from arising again and again the board or the law must step up.(!.)Guidelines must be set for both tenant and landlord. If theree is no guideline both tenant and landlord will do whatever they feel the minute one becomes tired of the other.THE LAW FOR TENANT AND LANDLORD ARE THE SAME. TENANT MUST BE INFORMED ABOUT RENT INCREASE AT LEAsT SIXTY DAYS IN ADVANCE (2.)When a tenant fall into arrears the landlord will serve a thREE day notice to pay LATE rent ,after this 3 days notice IF THE TENANT DID NOT PAY HIS LATE DUESTHE LANDLORD ASK THE COURT FOR HELP.(FOR A FEE)THE COURT WILL NOW SUMMON THE BAILLFF OR THE POLICE TO SERVE THE TENANT AN ORDER TO LEAVE THE PREMISES IN THREE DAYS .THE POLICE WILL DO A FOLLOW UP IF THE TENANT HAS NOT VACATE THE PREMISES THE BAILIFF WILL BE SUMMONED TO MOVE THE TENANTS OUT ON THE THIRD DAY.. The names and last address of all delinquent tenants would be recorded in the court or rent board. With this information any landlord can call or download this information prior to screening a prospective tenant (4)First and Last months rent are importnt this give landlord and tenant peace of mind . Ihope you find my imput helpful. abused landlord

posted by HughElliott | 2007-03-17

sales, kingston 3

when I first moved in here my landlord made me sign a document prepared by her lawyer the document basicaiiy said I would have to do any repairs. I cant afford to fix the leaks in the kitchen or the leaky kitchen sink also the concrete is slowly dropping out from the ceiling and she increse my rent $500 everyyear is this practise legal

posted by james smith | 2007-08-04

engineer, uk

what rights do a tenant have if their is no signed tenancy agreement.ie the tenant is living in the house while the owner is abroad. Towner will require the property in the future.

posted by Dahlia Brown | 2007-10-14

Supervisor, Kingston Jamaica

My landlord refuses to do repairs or have rectified electrical fixtures which have badly deteriorated. I have spoken to him on many occasions but he keeps telling me it will cost money to repair and he cannot afford it. Consequently there is no electricity in either of the two rooms I occupy. I have engaged the services of a certified electrician to deal with the problem. What are my rights?

posted by Sandra Dixon | 2007-10-15

Accounting Clerk, Kingston

I have a five bedroom house and I subleted on of the rooms since 2 years now. My tenant is a female and when she moved in, I did not collect a security deposit from her. Since has decided to move. When I spoke to her about giving some funds to have the from repainted and lefted in the same condition she got it she refuses, saying she is not going to and that this is normal and I should repaint it myself. I want to know, does the landlord not have the right to request a fee just to cover the cost of paint and labor the have the room brouht back to how it was before she occupied it. I was not the one using that room and before I decided to rent it, I had it painted and the windows cleaned. Is it fair for her to leave without handing over the room in the same condition as she received it. Please advise me about my rights.

posted by Ellie Oldacre | 2007-10-20

Technical Support Manager, Toronto Canada

I have a 3 bedroom house which I have rented out in Jamaica. The tenant living in the house pays rent when she feels like. I gave her notice before and she did not leave the property, that was over a year ago. I have given her notice a week ago. What steps can I take to have this tenant removed from my property within the law? Thanks.

posted by mark boman | 2008-01-25

unemployed, montego bay

since june 2007 my tenant has neither paid rrent or utilities hence was issued a written notice in september which she ignored.she has sinse made no effort to move or make restitution as it relates to overdue rent and utilities. is it legal there fore to pay the utilities and turn off their light for failing to pay.i depend on the rent for sustainance as well as paying my portion of the bill so what are my options here.mark

posted by A frustrated landlord | 2008-03-16

Kingston

I agree with the post by Joseph Coat above there definately needs to be a delinquent tenants list. My Tenant has not paid rent in 7 months and has also stopped paying utilites, which are in my name. I moved out of my place because of financial constraints and needed the rent to cover my mortgage. I am now paying rent and mortgage. I have no problems with laws being present to protect tenants but what about laws for landlords? This issue is by far the most stressful thing I have had to deal with. Lease agreements need more teeth, once their is a breach in the agreement or the agreement has expired, their should be power to act. Landlords should not have to await the lenghty court process for a court order to evict. Balance is most definately needed.