Sky-high frustration
Ruthven Towers homeowners demand mortgage reduction amid NHT delay in providing full amenities, addressing defects
Published:Sunday | January 26, 2025 | 12:13 AMEdmond Campbell - Senior Staff Reporter
Homeowners of Ruthven Towers Phase 1 in New Kingston are demanding an immediate reduction in their mortgage payments from the National Housing Trust (NHT), citing the agency’s failure to deliver promised amenities in the development.
The residents are also growing frustrated with the NHT’s slow response to address some 70 in-unit defects that have been reported.
Anthony McKoy, president of the interim Ruthven Towers Strata, told The Sunday Gleaner that promised amenities – such as a swimming pool, multi-purpose court, gym, and other recreational facilities – have yet to be built. Instead, a meeting room was converted into a makeshift gym, with donated equipment from residents.
Dwayne Berbick, assistant general manager for corporate and public affairs at the NHT, said the agency had always planned to develop Ruthven Towers on a phased basis.
When advertised, the amenities were scheduled to be included in Phase 2 of the project, Berbick said, noting that due to various considerations, the approach to Phase 2 was reconsidered.
He, however, pointed out that to avoid further delay in the delivery of the amenities to the residents, the NHT has moved to include amenities as part of Phase 1.
Berbick said representatives of the residents were advised in meetings, from as early as September 2023, that in order to include the amenities in Phase 1, the NHT would need to divide the property into two lots, obtain titles for the two lots and submit a new strata plan for the existing apartment block for approval.
The NHT spokesman said the trust would, therefore, proceed to have the communal facilities for Phase 1 designed and constructed.
Since September 2023, attempts at identifying a developer for Phase 2 of the project have been unsuccessful as proposals from a request for proposals were not considered viable.
Berbick said the NHT is in the process of procuring the services to design the facilities and that the related tender of documents is scheduled for September 2025.
However, McKoy lamented that the prospectus for the development indicated that amenities should have been available in Phase 2 by December 2024.
Phase One’s 14 two-bedroom units, sold at $38 million each, and 72 one-bedroom units, with a sale price of $28 million each, were handed over to homeowners in August 2022.
McKoy argued that the amenities were factored into the mortgage calculations “ because the NHT would not have been able to increase the mortgage later on” and that the delay is depriving residents of the full value of their homes.
On September 21, last year, the strata president wrote to NHT Managing Director Martin Miller, requesting that the mortgage payments be adjusted due to the lack of amenities. The letter, a copy of which The Sunday Gleaner has seen, emphasised that when the residents committed to their mortgages, they expected full access to the advertised amenities, which have been delayed until at least May 2027.
Berbick told The Sunday Gleaner that the NHT had advertised a jogging trail, a meeting room and laundromat as amenities for Ruthven Towers Phase 1.
“These have been provided except for a defined area for jogging,” he noted, adding that all other amenities such as a gym, swimming pool and tennis court were scheduled for Phase 2.
Responding to the residents’ push for a reduction in mortgage payments in the absence of some amenities, Berbick said: “Requests for modification in mortgage payments can be considered in prescribed circumstances such as loss of job, illness or reduction in income and the level of arrears in mortgage payments must be taken into account.”
He said the NHT works with its mortgagors to see improvements in compliance.
In addition, Berbick said due to the delays in the formal establishment of the strata, the NHT, as it would with other developments, assists in the management of the property.
However, McKoy reasoned that if the owner of a two-bedroom apartment wants to rent or lease it, he would be at a disadvantage as the asking price for the units would have to be marked down, owing to the absence of some amenities.
“One can imagine a homeowner who has a two-bedroom apartment here, after paying close to $40 million, you paying a mortgage of $230,000 per month and now wanting to tenant or lease your property to someone else … . There is nobody in Jamaica who is going to pay $230,000 to rent a property in New Kingston without amenities,” he emphasised. “Without the amenities, you cannot recoup anything.”
In-unit defects
The residents’ frustrations also extend to ongoing in-unit defects. McKoy said all the homeowners have experienced problems with their units. Among the myriad reported defects are leaking roofs on the top floor, tiles lifting, bedroom door misaligned and cannot close, faulty window lock and water not flowing from bath tubs in some apartments because of substandard drainage and piping.
McKoy said despite the residents compiling a list of over 70 defects and sending it to the NHT, many issues remain unresolved two and a half years later.
Berbick said new building projects typically have a standard defects liability period of six months. He said the NHT, in consultation with the residents, has extended this defects liability period to September 2025 for all in-unit flaws, which are to be addressed by the trust.
He added that all major defects, preventing occupancy, have been fixed, and that minor defects are grouped for repair through a single procurement process.
The NHT spokesman said in keeping with the timelines communicated to the residents in September 2024, proposals were returned and are being evaluated to facilitate contract approval.
“This award will be made to a single contractor to remedy the reported defects to units. For the final set of in-unit defects, the procurement process has commenced to engage a contractor to effect the necessary repairs,” he added.
Another concern highlighted by the residents of Ruthven Towers is the delay in receiving property titles. McKoy explained that because the property has not been subdivided, homeowners cannot yet receive their titles. Berbick acknowledged this delay, explaining that the process of subdividing the property and obtaining titles involves several government agencies, making it difficult to predict when the titles will be available. However, the NHT is working to expedite the process where possible.