The REB, CSC, and the Coming Real Estate Authority of Jamaica — What Changes

Jamaica’s property regulatory landscape is about to consolidate. The Real Estate Board and the Commission of Strata Corporations — the two bodies that oversee Jamaica’s real estate industry — are merging into a single entity: the Real Estate Authority of Jamaica.

For strata corporations and gated communities, this is the most significant regulatory change in decades. Understanding what each body does today, and what the unified authority will mean, is essential for every board member, property manager, and developer in Jamaica.

The Real Estate Board

The Real Estate Board was established by the Real Estate (Dealers & Developers) Act (Act 18 of 1987) and became operational on September 1, 1988. It operates as an agency of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

Why It Was Created

The REB’s creation was a response to decades of real estate fraud in Jamaica. During the 1960s and 1970s, developers routinely collected deposits from purchasers without delivering land or homes. The scale of the problem prompted a formal investigation.

In 1973, Sir Herbert Duffus chaired a commission to investigate the industry. His interim report in 1976 documented “hundreds of purchasers” losing money to failed developments. By 1975, the Ministry estimated approximately JMD $6.33 million had been lost by 2,400 purchasers across 63 developers.

Legal consultants drafted legislation based on the Duffus Report recommendations in 1980. An interim Board was appointed in 1982 under Chairman Hon. Ewart Forrest, PC. The Act was signed in 1987 and became operational in 1988.

What It Does

The REB’s primary functions are:

• Register and license real estate dealers and salesmen
• Register and regulate real estate developers
• Issue initial and renewed registrations
• Enforce compliance with the Real Estate (Dealers & Developers) Act
• Serve as Registrar of Timeshare under the Timeshare Vacations Act

The Board also maintains gazetted inspectors with the authority to demand information, issue search warrants, and enter premises during investigations.

The Commission of Strata Corporations

The CSC operates alongside the REB but focuses specifically on strata corporations. It is governed by the Registration (Strata Titles) Act.

What It Does

The CSC’s responsibilities are extensive:

• Monitor strata corporations for compliance with the Act
• Regulate strata corporation operations
• Supervise strata corporation governance
• Handle dispute resolution between proprietors and corporations (Form 10, JMD $4,000 per complaint)
• Issue certificates of registration (CSC-XXXX format)
• Conduct random inspections with at least 3 months’ advance notice
• Issue Power of Sale certificates for arrears recovery (Form 9, JMD $5,000 per unit)
• Maintain the public register of strata corporations
• Provide education and workshops — quarterly sessions covering annual returns and bookkeeping, capped at 15 participants

The Current State

The CSC oversees approximately 1,300 registered strata corporations. The compliance picture is stark:

• Only about 12% file annual returns in any given year
• Over three years, only about 10% filed required returns
• Approximately 90% operate without Commission oversight
• Of corporations audited, 88% violated multiple bylaws

These numbers reveal both the scale of the compliance challenge and the limited capacity of the current regulatory structure. Quarterly workshops of 15 participants cannot serve 1,300 corporations. The Commission’s inspection and enforcement resources are stretched thin.

The Merger: Real Estate Authority of Jamaica

Work is “far advanced” on merging the REB and CSC into a single entity — the Real Estate Authority of Jamaica. This is not merely an administrative reorganization. It represents a fundamental shift in how Jamaica regulates its property sector.

What the Authority Will Oversee

The unified body will have jurisdiction over:

• Real estate dealers and salesmen — licensing, compliance, and discipline
• Real estate developers — registration, project oversight, and consumer protection
• Strata corporations — registration, compliance monitoring, dispute resolution, and enforcement
• Gated communities and shared developments — under the Registration (Shared Community) Act 2026

For the first time, a single regulatory authority will have oversight across the entire property lifecycle — from the developer who builds a community, to the real estate professionals who sell within it, to the corporation that governs it.

What Changes for Strata Corporations

Single point of contact. Currently, strata corporations interact with the CSC for registration and compliance, but issues involving developers require engagement with the REB. Under the unified authority, both fall under one roof.

Potentially stronger enforcement. A combined authority will have greater resources and a broader mandate. The ability to connect developer compliance with corporation compliance creates accountability across the value chain. A developer who hands over a non-compliant corporation can be held accountable by the same body that regulates the corporation.

Streamlined processes. Registration, annual filings, complaints, and dispute resolution through a single authority should reduce bureaucratic complexity. Whether this translates to faster processing will depend on implementation.

Unified compliance standards. As the authority develops its regulatory framework, expect harmonised standards across strata corporations and gated communities. The Registration (Shared Community) Act 2026 already mirrors many provisions of the Strata Titles Act, suggesting the legislative intent is alignment.

What Changes for Gated Communities

For gated communities, the merger coincides with the Registration (Shared Community) Act 2026. This means gated communities will come under regulation at the same time the regulatory body itself is being restructured.

The unified authority will handle:

• Initial registration of shared communities and their community corporations
• Issuance and renewal of registration certificates
• Compliance oversight
• Dispute resolution — significantly reducing the need for Supreme Court involvement

For communities that have operated for years without any regulatory framework, this represents a transition from informal governance to formal accountability.

What Changes for Developers

Developers will answer to a single authority for both their developer registration and their obligations under the Shared Community Act. The Act requires developers to lodge shared community plans, submit bylaws and maintenance plans, and ensure registration before land is brought under the Registration of Titles Act. Non-compliance carries fines of up to JMD $500,000 or imprisonment for up to 6 months.

Affiliated Government Bodies

The Real Estate Authority of Jamaica will operate within a broader ecosystem of government agencies:

• National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA): Environmental and planning oversight for developments
• Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC): Corporate registration
• Financial Investigations Division (FID): Anti-money laundering and financial crime investigation
• National Land Agency (NLA): Title registration, strata plan registration, and by-law amendment lodgement

The authority’s effectiveness will depend partly on coordination with these bodies — particularly the NLA, which handles the registration of strata plans and by-law amendments that are central to corporation compliance.

What This Means in Practice

For the executive committee member or property manager, the merger means:

Prepare for increased regulatory attention. A unified authority with a mandate covering both strata corporations and gated communities will need to demonstrate effectiveness. Expect more active enforcement, more inspections, and higher compliance expectations.

Get compliant now. The transition period is the time to close compliance gaps — file overdue annual returns, update insurance documentation, conduct overdue AGMs, and formalise governance structures. Waiting until the new authority is operational and actively enforcing may be too late.

Invest in systems. The compliance requirements are not going to become simpler. They are going to become broader (covering gated communities) and more actively enforced (through a unified authority with greater resources). Manual processes that barely work today will not work tomorrow.

FiWi Community is built for this environment — a platform that serves both strata corporations and gated communities, designed around the Registration (Strata Titles) Act and the Registration (Shared Community) Act 2026, with compliance tools that keep communities ahead of regulatory requirements regardless of which authority is overseeing them.

The regulatory landscape is consolidating. The communities that are prepared will see this as an opportunity for better governance. Those that are not will discover that a unified authority means there is nowhere left to hide.