Derelict housing
Government’s plans to identify derelict buildings and use the force of the law to get them renovated is, on the whole, welcome.
No one should think that renovating derelict buildings and returning them to the Island’s housing stock is a panacea for the housing crisis. But it is a step in the right direction, will remove unattractive and unsafe properties from the public’s eye and should also get the owners’ some income.
Inevitably, there will be problems. Some of these properties have fallen into disrepair because they have been inherited by multiple owners who can never agree on what should be done. In other cases, as was noted yesterday, it is impossible to determine who owns the property, and it would appear that in those cases, Government will taken over the “lease” and renovate and rent the building itself.
The major problem comes when the owner is unwilling to do anything with the building. In those cases, Government will again act and do the work itself and then, eventually, provide income to the owner.
It should be clear that enormous care needs to be taken with this, because it could be seen as an enormous infringement on the owners’ rights, notwithstanding the public interest argument.
Then too, some landowners may opt to simply bulldoze the building and leave the space open. One would assume that is their right, although it is hardly the Government’s aim.
The other major issue concerns cost. The Bermuda Housing Corporation now appears to be a much more tightly run operation than it was at the height of the BHC scandal several years ago.
But tight controls of costs are necessary where Government is taking over properties on behalf of landowners, who are either known or unknown.
Landowners and their descendants could find themselves facing debts that are much higher than they ever expected, and in the event of vacancies or cost overruns, this might put them in a fix. It is not clear if they are being guaranteed a certain level of income, which carries its own risks to the taxpayer.
Having said all of that, this project should, provided it is properly run, increase the housing stock and benefit both property owners and the general public. But care needs to be taken that it is efficiently run.
It may seem curious to see insurance companies — and the Island’s other domestic insurers are pushing healthier living as well — but it makes financial sense for them as well as being the right thing to do.
Bermuda’s health problems today stem largely from affluence and changes in work patterns, with diseases like diabetes and obesity-related illnesses on the rise as a result of spending power and people leading more sedentary lives.
The costs, both physical, financial and emotional, of unhealthy living are very high and have far reaching effects.
Government, the Island’s medical community and community and corporate leaders should follow the insurers’ lead and push healthier lifestyles in the workplace and in the home.
