Thursday, October 15, 2026
The Registration (Shared Community) Bill, 2026, now before Parliament, would set national rules for gated schemes and other developments where owners share roads, security and recreational facilities. Under Section 31, unpaid maintenance contributions could become a charge against the property, complicating any sale, refinancing or transfer, and a community corporation could in specified circumstances seek possession through the courts. Section 45 would let courts enforce by-laws with penalties of up to J$1 million.
The Bill would not allow an association to seize a home over a single missed payment, and notice, court procedure and Real Estate Board oversight would still apply. Paying residents should not carry neighbours who do not contribute, and ageing shared infrastructure needs reliable funding. But with a joint select committee still being arranged, the question for families in these schemes is plain: if the fund runs dry, who ends up paying the price, and how much transparency comes with the new collection powers?
In pen and ink with light washes, a big-headed man in a suit stands at the gate of a Portmore-style townhouse scheme, shaking a pink piggy bank labelled “MAINTENANCE FUND” until a single coin drops. Below, a young couple look up anxiously, clutching a paper that reads “CHARGE ON HOME”, beneath a gate banner for the “SHARED COMMUNITY BILL” and a notice warning “FINES UP TO J$1 MILLION”.
Read more: Could Unpaid Maintenance Fees Cost Jamaicans Their Homes?
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