Waterfront property owners are finding out this month that they owe tens of thousands of dollars to Government for their private docks.

The bills are part of a confusing land lease rule commonly referred to as Queen’s Bottom.

Ian Hilton bought a three-bedroom home with a dock a little more than a year ago and just received a bill for $37,000.

He said: “When we bought the house, we were warned it might be coming.”

According to Mr. Hilton, the previous owners did not face the same fate because the collection of this lease premium is new.

He said an assessor came to his home just a few weeks ago to measure the dock.

Although Government pledged to take this action in 2005, it took some time before the Ministry of Works and Engineering could get to the point it has reached now.

Permanent Secretary Dr. Derrick Binns explained the lease premium this way: “The land under the sea, to a statutory limit from shore, referred to as the Queen’s Bottom, is the property of the Government.

Over the years, many persons have encroached on the Government property by erecting docks, for example, on the sea bed.”

Now private property owners must pay the Crown for “these encroachments”.

So far Ministry officials have found 800 such encroachments and people are receiving letters, “inviting them to regularise the matter by leasing the land from the owner” which is the Government. Although Mr. Hilton is planning to pay his bill, not everyone receiving the letter can afford it.

One man suggested the price of his lease will probably be more than the dock is worth. If that proves to be the case, he says he’ll just tear the dock down.

The amount owed is tabulated in a mathematical equation that considers the size of the dock and the assessed rental value of the home (ARV). So Mr. Hilton rightly pointed out that a big dock on a small house would generally pay a smaller fee than a small dock at a big house.

Once the bill is paid, typically requested in a one-time payment, the debt is settled for 21 years.

There is also an intriguing loophole which makes some dock owners exempt. However, they will have to prove the dock has been there for more than 60 years. It’s a difficult case to make because the Ministry will want documentation or testimony from someone who was there six decades ago.

Mr. Hilton came close. He has a dock construction permit from the Governor dated 1953. That means he’s just six years shy of saving $37,000.