Francesca Tavares | Why Jamaica needs a Land Reformation Act

The National Housing Trust (NHT) has reached a point of systemic exhaustion. In 2026, the Trust functions less like a social safety net and more like a mortgage bank for the middle class and a surplus fund for the Treasury. Meanwhile, the grassroots taxpayer remains landless, and our landscape is defined by unplanned, precarious settlements.

For decades, we have sought to correct the historical evils of slavery and colonialism through calls for external reparations, the creation of the NHT, and the passive acceptance of "squatting". All have failed, in my opinion. Reparations remain a distant diplomatic hope; the NHT has become an exclusionary institution; and squatting merely institutionalises poverty and legal limbo.

Skyrocketing real estate prices, driven by unregulated short-term rentals and foreign speculation, have also created a class of "borderline homeless" young professionals. We are presently experiencing a crisis of ownership that fuels societal instability and disincentivises the stable family structures necessary for national growth.

True justice for the modern descendants of the enslaved and indentured lies in a just remedy of land allocation.

THE PROBLEM: INSTITUTIONALISED INSTABILITY

The current landscape is defined by three primary failures:

1. The Crown as Landlord: The Jamaican State remains the largest holder of land – a colonial vestige that denies citizens equity.

2. Incentivised Informality: Current frameworks fail to reward stable unions. With over 80 per cent of children born outside of wedlock, the lack of a "family-first" land policy discourages intergenerational wealth building and traps families in cycles of identity fracture and domestic upheaval.

3. The Politics of Patronage: Successive administrations have rewarded informal settling for short-term political gain, prioritising "ready votes" over legal titling and structured development.

THE SOLUTION: A LEGISLATIVE MANDATE FOR JUSTICE

I propose a Land Reformation Act to overhaul our relationship with the soil through intentional community formation. This mandate should include:

● Winding up the NHT: Liquidate the Trust’s land banks into a National Land Divestment Fund. This fund will facilitate the structured sale of Crown land at nominal fees – not merely to "squatters", but to those living within or near the area to preserve local social fabric and prevent "out-of-town" displacement.

● The National Land Divestment Fund (NLDF): To ensure this is not a drain on the national purse, the transition should be self-funded. By utilising the existing multi-billion dollar surplus of the NHT as seed capital, the NLDF can finance the surveying, titling, and basic infrastructure (roads/utilities) of these new community hubs. This converts "idle" cash into "active" national equity, moving the NHT's balance sheet from a pool of debt-based mortgages to a portfolio of high-value, deeded Jamaican freeholders.

● Integrated Infrastructure & Beauty: We must move beyond "selling lots". The Act should mandate the reservation of space for churches, hospitals/clinics, schools, green spaces, recreational facilities, and modern road networks. We should plan for the creation of these over time, with a long-term view toward public health, communal beauty, and architectural dignity.

● The Moshav Model: We should adopt cooperative, values-based living models centered on the married family unit and the Church. This includes relocation where necessary to ensure families are moved from disaster-prone areas into high-functioning, secure communities.

● Market Protection: Restrict residential property use for short-term rentals in high-demand areas and prohibit the outright sale of government-owned land to non-nationals, utilising long-term leases for foreign investment instead.

● Abolition of Adverse Possession: The State should resolve landlessness using State land, not by compromising the private property rights of its citizens.

A NATION OF FREEHOLDERS

While the National Land Agency (NLA) continues its commendable registration projects, these efforts are a parallel track to a much larger need.

My experience as Hurricane Relief Coordinator for the Love March Movement in St. Elizabeth, following Hurricane Melissa, has made this urgency clear. We see citizens unable to rebuild because they lack a "piece of the rock" to call their own.

The State should be a nominal holder of land; the Jamaican family must be the ultimate owner. We must transition from a nation of tenants to a nation of freeholders.

I am prepared to discuss the technicalities of this reform with relevant stakeholders committed to national stability.

Correct the historical evil. Prioritise the Land Reformation Act or other similar legislative reform.

- Francesca Tavares is an Attorney-at-Law. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com