Legislation To Merge Real Estate Board, Commission Of Strata Corporations To Finalise Shortly

Work is far advanced on the amalgamation of the Real Estate Board (REB) and Commission of Strata Corporations (CSC) into a single Real Estate Authority of Jamaica.

This was disclosed by Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., who noted that the operations of the entities have already been merged.

He said that the supporting legislative framework will be finalised “in short order,” which includes amending existing legislation and introducing new measures.

The Minister was speaking during a digital press conference on Tuesday (June 29).

Chief Executive Officer of the REB, Sandra Garrick, advised that the services of consultants were enlisted to conduct a strategic review of both entities’ activities, noting that permission was received from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to proceed with the merging of their operations while the legislative provisions are being finalised.

She said the review focused on “how we can advance our strengths and what operations we have to put in place to make sure that the new entity is much stronger”.

Meanwhile, Minister Charles Jr, pledged to do “everything in my power to give the necessary support to the Board and the staff of the Real Estate Board and Commission of Strata Corporations to be successful, [as] your success is Jamaica’s success,” Minister Charles Jr. said.

He noted that the entities are pivotal to the Ministry’s thrust to “transform and, ultimately, renew Jamaica”.

“We now have to look at the opportunities that are presented [in terms of] how are we going to transform our operations to make sure we protect the hard-working Jamaicans who are going to buy real estate [and] encourage real estate developers to involve themselves in sustainable practices. It means that, as a Government, we must lead,” the Minister said.