lease to own fraud Jamaica

Lease-to-own or rent-to-buy arrangements offer buyers a path to homeownership without immediate full payment, and can be a legitimate financing tool. In Jamaica, these arrangements have been structured in ways that leave the tenant-buyer in a legally precarious position, making large payments over time without acquiring any registered security over the property until the final payment is made.

Lease-to-own arrangements offer buyers who cannot immediately qualify for a mortgage the opportunity to occupy a property while accumulating equity through rent payments, with the expectation of converting the occupancy to outright ownership at a defined future point. When sellers structure these arrangements fraudulently — collecting rent without any genuine intention of ultimately transferring title — tenants lose both their payments and their housing security.