Government has rejected an opposition motion to update the nearly 200-year-old Landlords and Tenants Act, saying it plans to bring a bill to amend the legislation later this year.
The act, which is based on 1838 legislation, is considered extremely outdated, and includes archaic sections, such as one that gives landlords the right to seize cattle from tenants in arrears.
More than 20 years ago, in 2005, the Law Reform Commission recommended that it be repealed, and in 2009 the then Legislative Council passed a new Residential Tenancies Act, but that has never been brought into force.
Roy Tatum, the opposition MP for Red Bay, brought the motion calling on government to make any necessary amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act and implement it by 31 Jan. next year.
Tatum’s motion noted that “the absence of an operational residential tenancy framework has left both tenants and landlords without clear statutory protections, responsibilities, dispute resolution mechanisms and legal certainty”.
The Red Bay MP pointed out that both renters and landlords in Cayman are suffering because of a lack of legislation that protects their rights.
He said renters were experiencing increasing rental costs and housing pressures, “including concerns relating to unlawful eviction, substandard housing conditions, arbitrary rent increases and the absence of accessible remedies”, while an absence of a modern tenancy framework was creating “uncertainty for landlords regarding their rights, responsibilities and available avenues for dispute resolution”.
Jay Ebanks, the minister responsible for housing, asked why the opposition had brought a motion, rather than a bill which could be debated in full by the House.
Tatum responded that he did not have to bring a bill, as a bill had already been approved by lawmakers and was awaiting enactment.
Ebanks said the government would not support the motion, because it already has plans to change the law, and that members of the House were aware of this.
“I have no choice but to reject this motion today and I look forward to a proper debate when we bring the bill forward,” he said in response to the motion. “I hope, at that time, the opposition files any changes they think needs to be changed … amendments they think need to be done.”
He agreed that the legislation passed in 2009 needs a major revamp and says a white paper will be issued to obtain feedback from the people it will impact.
He said a bill would be brought forward in September.
In his rebuttal, Tatum said he was unaware of any announcement made earlier by government that it planned to bring such a bill.
The motion was defeated following a vote, in which nine government members voted no and six opposition members voted yes. Government minister Michael Myles was absent for the vote, and two independent members, Dwayne Seymour and Christopher Saunders, abstained.
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