NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government is moving to overhaul the country’s rent legislation and expand the Rent Control Unit amid mounting affordability concerns, with Economic Affairs Minister Jerome Fitzgerald acknowledging that rents are “extremely high” and saying additional officers are needed to police the sector.
Fitzgerald said he has already discussed the issue with Housing Minister Keith Bell, with the two expected to collaborate on new legislation governing the rental market following consultation.
“That comes under the Rent Control Unit, and I spoke with the officer who is responsible for that. We have to expand that unit. They communicated to me that we need more people in that unit,” Fitzgerald said.
“I’ve spoken with Minister Bell concerning the legislation, and he and I will work together to bring new legislation for rent within the country, and there’s going to be a lot of consultation that has to happen on that thing.”
His comments come amid public complaints over high rental costs and wider concerns about housing affordability.
Fitzgerald acknowledged that rents have become a significant issue, stating: “But we all agree that rent is extremely high in the country.”
He indicated that the government’s review will not be limited to rental prices, with the condition and maintenance of rental properties also expected to come under scrutiny.
“But apart from that, the upkeep and maintenance of facilities that are rented is also a major concern for the government, that people are getting value for what they’re paying, and landowners and landlords are required to keep their rental units at a certain standard,” Fitzgerald said.
“So we’ll be looking at all of that as we look at the rent situation in the country.”
The planned expansion of the Rent Control Unit will form part of a wider strengthening of consumer protection enforcement, with Fitzgerald also revealing plans to increase the size of the government’s price inspectorate.
He said markups on price-controlled goods remain among the main issues encountered by consumer protection officials.
“Yeah, I think, you know, the issue is always markup on goods, a lot of the goods that are under price control. We continue to see issues there, and so they have to go out and continue to talk to consumers.”
Fitzgerald said concerns also extend to the quality of imported goods.
“And then also the quality of what is being imported as well. So there are a number of issues. But as we move through this, I intend to increase the size of the price inspectorate and also they said the rent, so there’s going to be a number of employment opportunities that are going to come up as well.”
The expansion could therefore result in additional government employment as authorities increase staffing for both rent and price-control enforcement.
Fitzgerald said training will also be important to ensure inspectors understand the legislation and their responsibilities to consumers.
“But I’m happy that they put on these type of training sessions to make sure that everybody’s on the same page and they understand the law as well as understand the responsibility they have to the behaving people.”
The government is simultaneously moving to digitize its consumer protection operations, including upgrades within the Price Control Unit.
“We’re bringing, of course, digitization into the government across the board and the price control unit is being upgraded as well,” Fitzgerald said.
He also highlighted the government’s planned price-control app, which is expected to allow Bahamians to compare prices and submit updated pricing information themselves.
“The price control app is another initiative that the government is very bullish about in allowing behaviors to actually be able to compare prices and they’ll be able to update the prices themselves from the app as well. So it’s really a very innovative tool.”
Fitzgerald added: “And so we look forward to that being rolled out and being improved over a period of time.”
