IN 1990 the Tenantries Freehold Purchase (Amendment) Act, 1989, came into operation and made significant changes to the original act. Section 2(1) outlined its purpose and reads:
“The purpose of this act is to modify the right of qualified tenants residing on non-plantation tenantries of five lots or less to purchase the lots of which they are tenants, and to establish a right of sub-tenants who satisfy the requirements of the act to purchase the freehold of the lot on which they are residing.”
The main change effected by the act was that for a non-plantation tenantry, the land had to be sub-divided into at least six lots; while the original law had required only two.
Additionally, the law specifically granted sub-tenants the right to purchase “in the absence of the tenant or in the absence of the spouse, child, brother, sister or parent of the tenant”. Originally sub-tenants were not covered by the tenantries legislation.
Further changes were made to the Tenantries Freehold Purchase Act in 2001. These were made for the “widening of the scope of the Tenantries Freehold Purchase Act to allow certain tenants to benefit from its provisions”. That act provided, among other things, for a government subsidy to assist tenants with the purchase of their lots.
Provisions inserted
When the law was changed in 1990, provisions were inserted to preserve the rights of some tenants who resided in tenantries of two to five lots who had satisfied certain conditions as at February 1, 1990.
The combination of the 1989 and 2001 amendments has resulted in the following situation. The right to purchase is retained by tenants in tenantries of two to five lots where as at February 1, 1990:
1. The tenant had exercised his right to purchase. The tenant exercises his right to purchase by giving notice to the landlord of his intention to do so; or
2. The tenant had carried out substantial improvements to the lot in respect of which he had the right to purchase (The act defined “substantial improvements” as “the construction in stone, brick and concrete, of a dwellinghouse and includes the construction of water-borne toilet facilities”.); or
3. The tenant was residing on a lot for a period of 20 years or more.
The amendment at (3) above was made in 2001 and came into effect on August 9, 2001.
Even with the amendments mentioned above, some tenants who would have qualified under the legislation introduced in 1980 would have lost their right to purchase. To assist them, provision was made in the act to permit them to purchase from the Crown a suitable lot at a price to be agreed between the Crown and the tenant.
Right to be paid
Where the Crown is unable to find a suitable lot, the tenant has a right to be paid by the Crown a sum of money “that fairly represents the value of the right to purchase the freehold”.
For the avoidance of doubt, I should mention that tenants who occupy single lots are not protected no matter how long they have been residing on the lots, and they can be evicted if given the appropriate notice.
The purchase price of land in plantation tenantries has been fixed at $1 per square metre (with a minimum price of $300) “or by agreement between the parties, whichever is the smaller amount”.
In non-plantation tenantries, Section 10 of the Tenantries Freehold Purchase (Amendment) Act 2001 provides: “The price payable by the tenant for a lot in a tenantry other than a plantation tenantry shall not exceed $2.50 per square foot, but where the open market price of the lot exceeds $2.50 per square foot, there shall be payable to the landlord a government subsidy of the difference between the open market price and the $2.50”.
Under Section 10 of the act, the Government pays the subsidy of the act up to 5 000 square feet. The tenant pays the market price for the remainder of the land. This policy has been effected through the agency of the Urban Development Commission.
• Cecil McCarthy is a Queen’s Counsel. Send your letters to Everyday Law, Nation House, Fontabelle, St Michael. Send your email to cnmcc@caribsurf.com.