Persons who have purchased duplexes or condominiums from the state would soon be able to access the titles to their properties as the draft amendments for the Condominium Act have been completed and are currently with stakeholders for analysis, Attorney General Anil Nandlall has announced.
“The law in Guyana, that is to say the Condominium Act, is not designed to cater for condominiums in their modern format and also does not permit the grant of power to the Registrar of Lands to issue titles for condominiums owned in areas where the Registrar of Lands is the authorised agency to issue title,” Nandlall told Stabroek News in an interview.
To confront these difficulties and to lay the foundation for the construction and the selling of condo accommodations, the Ministry of Housing and the Attorney General’s (AG) Chambers are “working together to draft new legislation and regulations for the sector,” Nandall explained.
He informed that this was part of the government’s legislative agenda which is directed towards a revamp of many of the laws of the country that are archaic and outmoded, as well as to lay the foundation for the economic development anticipated to take place in the very near future.
“I have indicated on previous occasions that among the areas that will be targeted for law reform, is the housing sector, land zoning, and hospitality sector. Currently, there is great interest being expressed both locally and by foreign investors to develop condominiums and townhouse-types of accommodation…,” Nandlall said.
It is the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), under the leadership of Ministers Collin Croal and Susan Rodrigues which has been lobbying the government to have the legislation amended since they had received a number of complaints from frustrated members of the public.
Nandlall said that the CH&PA is leading the initiative and has hired consultant Darshan Ramdhani and Associates out of Grenada to assist. Together with the AG’s Chambers, they will work on the draft amendments.
During this year’s budget debate, Croal had told the National Assembly that the APNU+AFC administration’s largest housing project failed to accomplish the objective of facilitating home ownership because the former government failed to amend the relevant laws, as he pointed to the Condominium Act.
“They had one big idea for the housing sector and they still could not get it right. Their big idea was `let’s introduce duplexes’ and they proceeded to have contractors construct duplexes but they did not have the Condominium Act amended to include this type of house,” he had said.
The Act referenced regulates the division of properties into parts that are to be owned individually and parts that are to be owned in common, makes provision for the use and management of such properties, and makes provision for the assignment of certain properties owned by the government, etc, to the tenants thereof, and for matters connected therewith.
It specifies that a “condominium” means any building divided into units, with each unit being attached to, or dependent to a substantial degree on the other units forming the building for support, shelter or easements for passage, or for provision of water, sewerage, drainage, gas, electricity, garbage, artificially heated or cooled air and other services (including telephone).
Stabroek News understands that one of the major issues relates to the size of the properties on which the duplexes were built, which in some cases fall well below the legally established standard for an individual lot size. Once separated for administrative purposes, each lot is expected to measure a minimum of 40ft x 80 ft but this is not the case.
It was then that Croal announced that his government would amend the act. He also pledged the allocation of 50,000 house lots over the next five years, 10,000 of which will be allocated in 2021. In addition, 7,000 land titles are expected to be issued.
Nandlall contended that the previous government never addressed their minds to the legal hurdles which existed in relation to titles being issues for condominiums. “They had built a few condominiums and they were unable to grant titles to persons who purchase them,” he said.
“As a result, those persons were forced to be converted into tenants of the state,” he added.
Developer of Windsor Estates, Danny Shaw, according to Nandlall, has constructed a number of condominiums and has experienced great difficulty in passing titles to the owners.
“They have been sued for their failure to do so and have appealed to me for a change in the law because their complaint is that the law prevents them from passing the title. They built in land restriction areas and only the Registrar is authorised under the Act,” he noted.
The Guyana Association of Bankers also complained to government that they were unable to grant loans, because they cannot execute mortgages to secure these loans using condominiums as collateral because there is no title, Nandlall related.
“They have also asked for the laws to be adjusted and modernised to be consistent with other countries in the Caribbean,” he said.
With the draft regulations completed, the Attorney General informed that it has already been circulated to the Bankers Association, the Ministry of Housing, the Bar Association, the Private Sector Commission, and other stakeholders for their input.
“When all the inputs are received the legal affairs ministry will take them to cabinet and then to the parliament,” Nandall said as he explained that the Bankers Association has asked for a month to study the document.
Government anticipates that it will be ready for the National Assembly’s passage by the end of August this year.
