Tenants to get extended leases

The National Housing Corporation (NHC) will soon be in a better position to assist some of its tenants to improve their properties.

Word of this came today from Dr William Duguid, Senior Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for coordinating all infrastructural projects, as he led off debate in Parliament on the vesting of 18 909 square metres of land in Worthing, Christ Church to the NHC.

Dr Duguid noted that the parcel of land stretched from the area next to the sluice gate in Graeme Hall to the Sands Hotel. The 300 acres once belonged to the Graeme Hall Plantation.

The minister said in 1963 the plantation was compulsory acquired by the Crown and was vested in the Barbados Agricultural Development Marketing Corporation (BADMC).

He said in 1980 the land on the sea side was sectioned off from the rest of the plantation and given to the Crown and divided into 22 lots.

Duguid said the State had managed the land from then till now. However, he explained that some issues had developed.

“What has happened is that over time people who would have put small houses, small bay houses, residences, they would have passed on and they do not have any security of tenure to be able to pass to their heirs and successors.

“The security of tenure does not currently bind and never bound the State, so because of that those tenants never had an opportunity to get security of tenure and what has happened is because they can’t get security of tenure they cannot approach a financial institution, they don’t have an opportunity to repair and maintain, they cannot transfer it to their heirs in a good and proper way and then a lot of them were also non-compliant with their rents and all sorts of things were happening with respect to this particular piece of land,” Dr Duguid pointed out.

“So what we did is we went to Cabinet with the suggestion that this area be vested in the NHC so that the NHC would then be in a position to regularize these tenancies, give those people who are currently in good standing tenure so that they can be able to access loans, improve their properties and make the whole area a much improved and much better property…

“What essentially we are hoping to do is not only regularize the tenancies, it is the intention that once both Houses agree to this vesting that the NHC would be able to terminate unauthorized and non-compliant users, they would then be able to reallocate lots appropriately and more importantly improve that security of tenure by giving a longer lease.

“Now I don’t want to presuppose what the board will do but I would imagine that they would be looking at leases in the region of 20 years because a 20-year lease would be given as good collateral for a banking institution to then give to that person holding that lease to be able to improve their properties,” Dr Duguid added.

He said the rents would be moved to “market level” and the monies would go a long way in helping the NHC to maintain its units, wells, common areas and grounds. (RB)