Left: Attorney-at-law John Leiba wants strata unit owners to be properly educated. Right: Patrick Fletcher, managing director of Paradise Real Estate Developments in Montego Bay, is hailing the Golding administration for amending the Strata Titles Act. - Photos by Noel Thompson

WESTERN BUREAU:

At least one developer is hailing the government for amending the Strata Titles Act.

The amendments will now give developers and strata corporations the power to rent or sell premises for which owners fail to pay maintenance fees after they become due within 30 days.

"If the Bruce Golding administration has not done anything else since they took office, this is one very important law that has been passed," said Patrick Fletcher, managing director of Paradise Real Estate Developments.

Fletcher was speaking with The Gleaner at a Cornwall and Jamaican Bar Associations' law seminar, held at the Grand Palladium Resorts in Point, Hanover, on Saturday and Sunday.

Also addressing the seminar, attorney-at-law John Leiba of DunnCox law firm said strata owners needed to be sufficiently educated about the nuances of owning a house as against owning a strata unit.

Leiba warned there could be strong resistance to the fact that strata owners will now have to pay a fee to register with the monitoring commission, in addition to paying monthly maintenance fees.

"They might resist paying this additional sum," he said.

Confidence to buyers

Leiba believes that if the fee is subsidised by the government for at least a year, strata owners may have greater confidence in the sustainability of the legislation.

Questioned what actions strata owners could take against corporations if they had grievances, Leiba said: "The new act gives them the power to bring action against a developer or corporation if they feel fees are too high and the commission will have the power to adjust strata fees.

Fletcher maintained that the legislation would give the public greater confidence about the management and upkeep standards of strata corporations.

He argued that the Strata Act would safeguard developers of schemes and ensure their sustainability.

"Persons knowing that they will have to make their monthly payments towards the maintenance of the common areas and all associated facilities will have to do so," said Fletcher.

noel.thompson@gleanerjm.com