PM promises to address title concerns for Seaview Gardens residents
Published:Tuesday | June 7, 2022 | 12:08 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
Residents of Phase Two of Seaview Gardens say they have yet to receive titles to their properties despite having paid off their mortgages, some which started some 40 years ago.
The residents took Prime Minister Andrew Holness to task when he visited the community on Friday to hand over a newly constructed house under the New Social Housing Programme to a resident who was a fire victim.
One of the complainants, Elaine Johnson, who shouted at the prime minister during his address, later told The Gleaner.
“Mi live here from 1995, so check how much year that [and] no title! I go up there (National Housing Trust) inna month before last and dem seh I don’t owe fi mi house, but wa delay di title, dem seh truu di COVID and thing, nobody naa come talk to we.”
“Mi pay off mi mortgage long time!” she declared.
The prime minister had used the occasion to encourage residents to prepare for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through to November 30. He also urged them to secure their documents, including birth papers, titles, and passports, at which point they complained that they had not yet received titles for the houses. PM Holness responded: “You don’t get your title yet? All now? All right, say no more, but some of you may have.”
One resident responded: “None a we no have! Mi waa sell di house and mi naav no title!” before other homeowners from the community chipped in with their grouses.
The prime minister then briefly called on Anthony Hylton, member of parliament for St Andrew Western, who was present at the handover ceremony, to address the situation.
“It was just yesterday that we were handing out titles through the Systematic Land Registration system, so we need to then pay close attention to this scheme,” he said.
Holness continued, “It is unacceptable that persons have paid off for their homes and are not in possession of their titles.”
He promised to look into the situation and address it promptly.
Holness also committed to addressing the matter of a general clean-up of the community.
“I’m happy I came. In seeing for myself the conditions of the community, there needs to be some cleaning in this community, but I’m happy you told me about the titling problem, because that is something I’m going to go now and jump on,” he said.