Property rental can be quite ideal, benefiting tenants and landlords alike. It can also be quite the ordeal, if issues arise and both parties cannot see eye to eye. With an increasing number of Jamaicans opting to rent, it is time to examine the rights of tenants and landlords under the law. The rental of property in Jamaica is governed by the Rent Restriction Act (the “act”) under the jurisdiction of the Rent Assessment Board. The Act, though passed to ensure that tenants are treated fairly, aims to balance the competing interests of tenants and landlords alike.
Securing your security deposit
The request for a security deposit, though commonplace for decades, was illegal but permitted during the years leading up to 2008. Now a legal practice, how can it be properly handled? For instance, should tenants really ‘live it out’? According to Shelly Ann McGregor*, Attorney-at-Law, “If the tenant utilises that sum to settle the last month’s rent, it denies the landlord the opportunity to utilise the deposit for its intended purpose of repairing damages to the rented premises. Strategically, tenants try to live it out because landlords are sometimes slow to repay security deposit that has not been expended on repairs; or do not repay it at all.” For this reason, McGregor encourages tenants to have written leases that include provisions concerning the security deposit, if legal action is required to recover the sum.
What if the property is sold while occupied? “If sold, ‘subject to tenancy’, the purchaser should ensure that he gets a copy of the lease between the vendor and the tenant. If that lease provides for the payment of a security deposit, the purchaser should request that it be paid to him by the vendor, since he (the purchaser) will assume the responsibilities of the vendor as landlord” explains McGregor.
The right to stay?
While a landlord is entitled to repossess their property, they cannot physically evict a tenant. So, if a valid notice to quit premises has been issued and the tenant refuses to leave, the landlord cannot go rogue. Acts such as the disconnection of utilities, changing of locks or the making of threats are all prohibited by law. Instead, the landlord should take the tenant to court for possession. The judge will issue an order stating the date by which the tenant must vacate the premises. The tenant has the right to appeal for an extension. Once the tenant fails to comply and the expiry date has passed on the order, the landlord is free to hire a bailiff and have the tenant evicted or removed from the premises.
To continue reading, purchase Vol.9 #1, 2017 Issue.