Housing policy in works but CIG keeps report secret
(CNS): According to a written answer given by Infrastructure Minister Jay Ebanks in response to a parliamentary question last week, the government is still trying to complete a “comprehensive Public and Affordable Housing Policy” to tackle the “wicked problem” of the housing crisis in the Cayman Islands.
CNS is still waiting for the Cabinet Office to release a report by the Technical Working Group of the Inter-Ministerial Housing Taskforce, which was approved by Cabinet a year ago and was supposed to guide the policy.
The report was compiled to examine the state of the current housing crisis and is believed to outline some of the systemic problems in the housing market. CNS understands that the authors have made at least 27 recommendations. But even though the report and the subsequent engagement of consultants were funded by the public purse, it appears that the government is not to keen to show it to the people.
In the parliamentary question, Wayne Panton asked the minister what had happened to the report and why no strategic actions had been taken to address the crisis other than the existing National Housing Development Trust functions, which are inadequate. Because Panton was absent during part of the meeting, the question was not answered in the House but supplied in writing.
The written response described the recommendations in the report as high-level policy options intended to guide ministries in developing detailed proposals, such as the housing policy, which is now under development.
“To implement the recommendations, each responsible ministry was expected to utilise its expertise to undertake further evaluation, analysis, research and consultation to develop detailed proposals, including timelines, costing, and resources needed for Cabinet’s further consideration and approval,” the ministry stated in the answer.
The ministry had contracted a public policy and management consulting firm to help develop the housing policy and a ten-year plan, which had included stakeholder engagement when the public was invited to provide the ministry with “a better understanding of their issues and share their feedback on the look and feel of this new policy and plan”.
In the answer that the minister would have given to parliament if Panton had been present, officials stated that the policy and plan were nearing completion and would be presented to Cabinet by the end of the year.
The ministry is also working on amendments to the development and planning legislation, which are also underway, given the importance that legislation plays in achieving the goal of “affordable and attainable housing”. The changes are expected to address some of the “housing issues impacting the community”, though this was not explained.
Following an appeal by CNS over the failure of the Cabinet Office to release any of the task force’s reports, the Office of the Ombudsman advised it to give some “additional context” on the reasons for refusing access to the report and a presentation, which it holds.
In its response, the Cabinet Office said the report “contains high-level recommendations” to guide ministries and portfolios as they “undertake further evaluation, analysis, research and consultation to develop their own detailed proposals” for Cabinet to consider.
“As such the decision to apply full exemptions under sections 19(1) and 20(1)(b) was made after having consulted with the Policy Coordination Unit, reviewing the records and taking into consideration public interests and our obligations under the FOI Act,” the Cabinet Office stated, as it remains mum on these recommendations as well as the current situation that has left ordinary Caymanians unable to buy a home or even rent something suitable.
Property prices in Cayman have been heavily distorted by sales at premium prices to overseas owners as part of investment portfolios and as holiday or second homes. This means that young Caymanians looking for a first home or families looking to move up the ladder are competing with billionaires from all over the world to secure the properties they want, making it almost impossible.
Meanwhile, the price of rental accommodation has skyrocketed due to long-term rental properties being leased to tourists through online platforms like Airbnb and a shortage of housing to accommodate the massive influx of work permit holders since the borders re-opened after the COVID-19 pandemic.
See the written answer in full below and in the CNS Library.
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1. Whatever policy is adopted, it should clearly stipulate that there will be NO political interference and that those who deservingly need housing will get housing.
2. Tax foreign investors on any property they own here -EXCEPT the first purchase. Foreign investors are already used to being taxed elsewhere, so Cayman would not be an exception. A sh88 load of monies is sent out of these islands from the earnings these investors receive from sales, rents, etc., and these people laugh their a**** off at the CI Gov’t EVERY MONTH while looking at their bank accounts.(Cayman MUST have the highest ECONOMIC LEAKAGE in the entire world).
3. Use ALL monies earned from these taxes solely to build more affordable homes, which should include one —and two-bedroom apartments for Single-Parent Families, Young Families with Children, and First-Time Buyers, to name a few categories of people who are desperately in need of fulfilling this Right.
Well another day, another exposure of CIG’s incompetence , corruption and lack of commitment and utter disconnection from the concerns of the people electing them into office!
At this stage kleptocracy dressed with a heavy helping of lipstick to keep it looking like a “FridgeOCracy” as one of the contributors to ViewPoint explained the veneer of appearances is wearing very very thin!
There is little to nought to be expected from the seating governor unfortunately to put some order into our
locale and stop the circus from putting itself alight due the show ! The catastrophe is just waiting to happen at this stage lest the country takes a stand against those that led to the present state of misconduct, gross mal administration, abuse of public funds and the list goes on … as it stands our judiciary doesn’t have the integrity nor fortitude to bring those charges to bear as they should!
While we have the laws on the books they are not going anywhere close to be enforced as they would wipeout the present cast of characters’ into the next century or so ….
Addressing the housing shortage is by far the last of their worries for they care little for the future generations or even the island as shown by their strictest attendance record to celebrate the independence of our eastern neighbors and that ladies and gentlemen is just the tip of the iceberg!
The scope of their collective ambition is to turn Cayman back into a parish of the grand nation of Absurdistan at best at worst into Haiti if their garrison politics backfire upon them !
But don’t get me wrong, it isn’t all doom and gloom… yet we have yet to see a few more headlines before we get to the picture that the present set of buccaneers , ship wreckers and raiders of public coffers is painting !
For PR points government should charge an annual tax of 2% on market value.
Apparently the report is full of charts and graphs.
any comment mrs governor?
Judasanna blocked it for her own self interest. The technical working group recommended:
– Changes to protect tenants, including a 5 person rental commission, introduce a standard lease with requisite clauses to protect tenants and landlords and rental housing inspectors
– Introducing a programme to guarantee the downpayment for Caymanians to qualify for mortagages (it would take VERY little cash to do this)
– Buy several housing units (apartments or houses) in each district to provide emergency housing for distressed families and save Government money
-Remove the PR points for purchasing land
– Buy more land for housing
Judasanna does not want to help Caymanians. She only wants to help herself and her family.
It also recommended increased density and letting people in certain zones add onto their house, get a separate meter for utilities and building on auxillary dwelling units, converting garages into mother in law suites or studios for rent and the like.
Tax investment properties owned by foreign investors for one.
Forcing X-Pats to buy property for PR points is another major driver contributing to inflated prices and shortages for Caymanians.
I think what’s missing is information, are foreign investors buying up property that Caymanians would otherwise want to buy or are they buying high end stuff that no-one can afford. Second, no mention of build costs. Even if you have a piece of land, putting up a 2500 sq ft house will run you around $700k to build, add the land value and you don’t have much change out of $1mio, who has that sort of money! I think you need to increase housing density, make the defacto house a 2 story, or duplex, yes you are going to lose some amenity but everywhere in the world has an affordable housing issue, if build costs aren’t coming down then you have to make what you build cheaper, ie smaller and more of them, then restrict those properties from investors.
BINGO! Some billionaire buying a villa at rum point, that cost $4 million to build, without land costs…is NOT in any way shape or form pricing middle or lower class Caymanians out of the housing market.
All this stuff about AIRBNB on SMB or foreign investment has almost nothing to do with the average Caymanian not being able to afford a home.
Do the simple math: Cost to build a home $250/square foot. That means a 1000 sqft home costs $250,000 to build. Add another 100-200k for land and you’re at $350,000-$450,000 to build a 1000 square foot home.
To build something like that you need 25% down including the equity in the land so you’re talking $87,000-$112,500 in down payment. You’ll be left with a loan of somewhere between $262,000-$337,000
At 6% interest for 30 years that’s $1,570-$2,020 per month.
Add $500 for insurance and you’re at: $2,070-$2,520 per month.
Most banks have a debt service ratio of 45% which means your income needs to be $4,600-$5,600 per month: WITH ZERO OTHER DEBTS in order to qualify for that mortgage. And you need to be young enough for them to give you a 30yr loan.
Now…all those figures are for building something small and cheap in an area with plenty of land. Those economics are not skewed by PR points, foreign investors, AirBNB or anything at all like that.
Look at the ESO reports and tell me how many Caymanians earn $4,600-$5,600 ($55,200-67,200) annually AND then guess how many have $87,000-$112,000 CASH ON HAND.
You can hate me or the situation as much as you’d like, but none of the “reasons” that everyone loves to give for Caymanians being “priced out” are actually the causal reason for that problem. Nobody wants to admit it because they need a scapegoat to point fingers at.
You may be able to alter or change my figures just a bit, but at the end of the day that’s a pretty damn accurate picture of what a 1000 sqft house will cost you.
The math doesn’t lie.
Completely agree. How about we award PR to good/hardworking people, not just wealthy shitheads?
Fine. As long as the people it is awarded to do not become an economic burden on the Caymanian people.
I’ll take the people who stayed and clean up this Island after hurricane Ivan over all those wealthy shitheads that packed up and left until the hard work was done anytime of the day.
I suggest that:
a) persons on a GOL should not be allowed to purchase more than the housing property which they reside in. Some on the High end of the salary scale have purchased multiple properties to rent;
b) non-resident persons should have a minimum purchase price of 1 million dollars.
c) restrict real estate commission rate to a maximum of 2%.
My opinion is that it is being kept secret as the report probably states the obvious that financial intervention is required by government. They just borrowed more money so they can’t afford to borrow more.
If you think that the health center in East End is over budget, let us wait and see what the OAG has to say about the NHDT homes.
Maybe Government will build affordable homes on those expensive beach front properties they bought at the expense of the protection fund. Just joking folks.
Their plan will be revealed before they hit the campaign trail with saying something stupid like “give us another 4 years so we can carry out this plan”.
The misleading statemenets coming from some of these ministers is alarming and unfortunately, some don’t realize it until it is too late.
I attended a meeting that they bragged government had a $200million surplus when most didn’t realize that was a moving target and now they claim the surplus is reduced to $16.5million and they had to borrow more money!!!
People you really need to start fact checking here as our country’s finances are not in a good position.
Well they’re planning to spend the $200,000,000 on a new resort prison, so that should take care of housing for a 1000 or so…..which WE will pay for, again and again.
I think our politicians need lessons not only in government leadership, but also economics, public interest and conduct in matters pertaining to the public purse.
Release the report.
Too late for lessons, they never lusten anyway. Get rid of the lot of them to Guantanamo, that will teach them a lesson!
That would be an excellent solution to our apparent prison inadequacies…Guantanamo is not far, it is set up as a secure facility, and they have space which we can rent .
They have NO CLUE what they’re doing! Neither the politicians nor the civil circus administrators.
I disagree because they certainly know how to rip off the taxpayers and collect fantastic pay, benefits and side deals while the rest of us are struggling to make ends meet.
serious question- does this government do anything on their own without having to hire someone/firm/etc. to provide guidance on how to do their jobs??? FFS! Must be nice to get such a hefty paycheck and never have an ounce of accountability!! Where’s the report of all the reports they’ve paid for and all the projects that remain unfinished, much less even started!!
What can we expect?
90% of them are not qualified to hold the positions they fill.
This ridiculous one man one vote system has made a mockery of us all.
Any stool pigeon can rock up a couple of hundred votes once embedded within their district.
Just look at the districts and who got “voted” in. It’s mind blowing and their people don’t give a toss. They wouldn’t get voted onto a school PTA in the real world and they should know that , but guess what ,they don’t.
They actually think they are high and mighty and are our saving graces, think we all fool fool.
But unfortunately the only fools are the idiots who put them there and will continue to do so.
Some of these voted in MPs have no capacity to problem solve and are just the voted face.They have people around them that try very hard to make them sound intelligent and write their scripts and it’s still hogwash.
Vote educated people into office and get educated answers .
But nothing never gets done and the same old stooges that keeps collecting a big salary and pension. The ROI is, Caymanians gets screwed the work permit holder gets PR and the price of homes keeps getting way out of reach for the average Joe. Not to worry a reset is coming and all this million dollar properties will worth nothing in the coming months.
Let’s change the 1 man -1 vote to ( 1 vote per person per distinct). We don’t need 19 MLA’s for such a small voting population. Paying each over $19k to $20k per month is before ridiculous!
It will be secret until very close to election day so these looser politicians can milk some votes out of it.
Does this mean they are going to stop granting PR to people with no house of their own and no means of purchasing one? Please remember them minister. There are only several hundred of them them and all deserve (and need) a roof of their own.
Caymanians (note: not status holders nor PR holders) deserves housing before EVERYONE else. WE have NOWHERE else to go. Luckily for you, you can just pack up shop and leave when it gets too hard.
Ah – but unfortunately the Cayman Government is making thousands of people who cannot afford to live here Caymanian. Has been, almost unabated, since 2003. You starting to feel the impact? Just wait. It gets much more dramatic. Fast. Hold on (its going to be bumpy).
another glorious day for the cig and civil service…zzzzzz
their failures and incompetence are never ending
Some of the failings and incompetence are willful (and therefore criminal).
Interesting legal guidance on the common law offence of Misconduct in Public Office (hard to believe but it is an offence here) published by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service:
Introduction
Misconduct in public office (“MiPO”) is a common law offence that can be tried only on indictment. It carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The offence concerns serious wilful abuse or neglect of the power or responsibilities of the public office held. There must be a direct link between the misconduct and an abuse of those powers or responsibilities. The Court of Appeal has made it clear that the offence should be strictly confined, and it can raise complex and sometimes sensitive issues.
This guidance sets out the key legal elements of the offence and the factors that prosecutors should consider when applying the Code for Crown Prosecutors in cases where MiPO is alleged. Where a case concerns a police officer, prosecutors should also consider the statutory offence of police corruption contrary to section 26 Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015.
Case Handling
Prosecutors should refer to the Referral of Cases guidance for the appropriate handling of MiPO allegations.
Evidential Considerations
The elements of the offence were summarised in Attorney General’s Reference No 3 of 2003 [2004] EWCA Crim 868. The offence is committed when:
a public officer acting as such:
wilfully neglects to perform their duty and/or
wilfully misconducts themselves to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder
without reasonable excuse or justification.