Bill to Empower Administrator General to Transfer Properties Before Parliament

A Bill to empower the Administrator General to transfer properties to secondary beneficiaries as long as they are able to prove their relationship to the deceased owner is now before the Houses of Parliament.

This will also help to clear the backlog of estate matters at the Administrator General’s Department (AGD).

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, Hon. Dr. Morais Guy, made the announcement at a Jamaica House press briefing in Montego Bay, on February 5.

He noted that amending the Act will bring about far reaching changes on how persons can inherit land, and benefit from the Government’s land titling programme.

“One of the most far reaching decisions to affect the land titling programme comes out of the Administrator General’s Department. This department has some 2,200 estates which are categorised as multi-generational, where there are letters of administration and the beneficiary would have died not less than 25 years ago, but the estates have not been closed,” the Minister said.

“The AGD has therefore sought a solution through legislative change (and) pursuant to Cabinet’s decision, approval was granted for the Administrator General (Amendment) Bill to be tabled in the Houses of Parliament,” he added.

The Bill, which is currently before the Senate for debate, is seeking to simplify the process of transferring property to secondary beneficiaries and will bypass the need for the personal representative, where there is none in place.

The Minister explained that instead of going through the courts, the Administrator General  would be empowered, based on affidavits signed by the third generation, that they are connected to the first beneficiary estate, hence the process can be expedited.

Dr. Guy said that an estimated 200 transfers will be completed within the first year after passage of the Bill.

“The success of the project is heavily dependent on the implementation of various initiatives and legislative amendments. However, as Minister with responsibility for housing, I am confident that the projected aggregate of certificates of title will be distributed,” he said.