Fiji Landlord & Agents Warned Against Discrimantion

The Fijian Competition & Consumer Commission (FCCC) has sent out a warning to agents and landlords practising discrimination when giving houses/flats out for rent.

This was revealed by the FCCC chief executive officer Joel Abraham.

Mr Abraham said they were aware of this happening.

“Racial prejudices and discrimination has no place in Fiji, I must make this crystal clear. The FCCC is against such practices that seek to discriminate, base on racial lines,” he said.

On the same note Mr Abraham is urging members of the public to come out and lodge complaints if they have been denied tenancy because of their race.

“The commission is aware of some incidents where race has been used to deny tenancy, however, individuals did not come to lodge complaints. I urge all Fijians to speak up against such discriminatory practices so that they can be highlighted and investigated.”

He went on to say “anyone who practises racial prejudice and discrimination is not a true Fijian.

“Absolutely no one should engage in promoting racism or xenophobia and definitely not the agents who must ensure that the rights of the landlord is protected and that their responsibilities are discharged as required under the law.”

Mr Abraham concluded by reminding landlords that there would be risks associated when giving out properties for rent and there were ways to seek legal action for any losses that may arise from the misconduct of tenants.

“There are opportunities for civil redress provided by law to address any losses that may arise out of the misconduct of tenants. However, resorting to illegal tactics to enforce rights will not be tolerated and profiling tenants based on their race, gender, ethnicity, place of birth is outright wrong.”

Meanwhile, five complaints have been received by the commission against landlords and real estate agents for the 2017-2018 financial year. Complaints received ranged from illegal rent increase, unfair evictions and deceptive conducts.

Credit: Avneel Chand, Fiji Times, 29.09. 2017

Namaka Market $4.97m Extension

Market vendors in Namaka witnessed the commissioning of a $4.79 million extension funded by the UN Women and Government.

Commissioning the project on behalf of Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, Minister for Local Government Parveen Kumar said the investment included a $US200,000 ($F407,322) gift from UN Women.

“The new extension will accomodate 355 more stalls in addition to the 221 existing stalls, making it 576 stalls altogether, with an accommodation centre with 48 beds and basic facilities,” he said yesterday.

“Provisions are there for two food outlets with 38 seats each. The proposed extension will also be disabled friendly.

“The new facility also employs gender friendly designs.”

Fiji Real Estate Industry figures show gradual growth

Ministry Land Permanent Secretary, Malakai Finau

The real estate industry with an average 1,500 real estate transactions annually rakes in $4.13 million in value and statistics into the Fijian economy.

Permanent Secretary for Land and Mineral Resources, Malakai Finau said this indicated the value of real estate transacted had gradually increased.

While speaking at the Real Estate Agents National Consultation Workshop at Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi yesterday, he said the industry was significant to the Fijian economy.

The theme of the workshop was ‘regulating for efficient outcomes’. The one day workshop is aimed to provide an avenue for real estate agents to deliberate on the best possible stance to move the sector forward by improving current practices and standards to comply with stipulated regulations and international best practice.

He added the real estate industry was important because its primary link to the performance of the economy in many respects.

“This underpins the immense worth of the Real Estate industry to our local economy as it exists in an interdependent mutually benefitting relationship thus; a strong economy leads to strong growth in the real estate industry,” Mr Finau added.

He advise real estate agents that their role was to ensure that affordable housing was available to all Fijians and continue to look for alternative methods of bringing it as a basic necessity.

Mr Finau said the 2013 Constitution has made it a right for every person in Fiji to access adequate housing and sanitation.

Government, he added that they are taking steps to make affordable housing available for Fijians but it was the duty of real estate agents to work within the realms of the law.

Mr Finau said the duty of real estate agents to ensure the industry was clean of unscrupulous dealers.

There was a somewhat general mentality that real estate agents hiked property prices because of commission, he said it should be the motivation to them to prove these general consensus wrong.

The Real Estate Agents Licensing Board (REALB) , Mr Finau said had adequately resourced by the Fijian Government as part of its commitment to clean up the real estate sector.

Credit: ARIETA VAKASUKAWAQA, Fiji Sun, 22.09.2017

Consultation Workshop For Fiji Realestate Agents.

Real estate agents, salespersons and branch managers in the Western division undertook a national consultation workshop in Nadi this week for input on a final draft of proposed changes to real estate agent’s regulations.

Realtors had earlier received copies of the document from the Real Estate Agents Licensing Board, which hopes to soon finalize the regulations ahead of their enactment.

The regulations include Codes Governing Professional Practise, Ethics & Conduct, Regulation of Real Estate Agency Work, Prescribed Real Estate Agency Agreements and Continuing Professional Development.

The workshop included several notable speakers from the Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit, Fiji Revenue & Customs Services, Fijian Competition & Consumer Commission, Consumer Council of Fiji, Department of Immigration, Investment Fiji, Fiji Police Force and Ministry of Lands & Mineral Resources.

Key issues also centered on agent commissions, and whether this should have a standardized percentage or be self-regulated.

“We have put in certain proposals with suggestions from agents on whether to regulate or not,” said REALB chairman, Dr Abdul Hassan.

“We have looked at how other countries regulate agent commission issues and it’s not that easy. We need to look at some ways or come up with some kind of formula on if commission should be regulated etc.”

Consumer Council officer, James Vakacabeqoli said advertising regulations for real estate needed to be strengthened, to ensure that ads fully disclosed property details, alongside measures to prevent the manipulation of market prices by agents.

“One of the biggest issues we face is the non-disclosure of property details, with some consumers unaware of exactly how many years they have left on a leasing term until the last minute,” he said.

“We also receive a lot of complaints on the failure of landlords to refund bond and to provide tenancy agreements or to have tenancy agreements that comply with guidelines set out by the FCCC. There are also a lot of complaints on delays in property settlements, failure by landlords or caretakers to carry out maintenance work, agents pressuring vendors to sell, unlicensed agents and untrained agents.”

Realtors also called on the Fiji Revenue & Customs Services to provide more public awareness on Capital Gains Tax to consumers, noting that it was sometimes difficult to explain CGT application to vendors, such as for inherited properties.

Discussion also centered on the legal obligation of agents and salespersons to have thorough knowledge of the intricate regulations pertaining to real estate set out by various authorities. Realtors said that despite the engagement of solicitors for Sale & Purchase agreements, agents were still blamed and penalized if property deals failed.

REALB member, architect Hemant Kumar challenged agents with establishing what the bare minimum of their legal obligation was to know certain facts, such as zoning, and other facets pertaining to their services.

The workshop had a considerable turnout of registered realty personnel, including a team from Inglewood Realtors, which has recently resumed operations.

Credit: Property.com

Fiji Construction Business Changing

There is excitement in the air in the west because there is so much activity in the building and construction industry and the demand for workers is huge.

This activity is generated basically by tourism industry related construction, reservation and development projects.

Almost anyone who wants a job can get a job and contractors are scouring the bushes for more men.

As a consequence of this activity the average wage has gone up considerably and there are stories of builders and contractors who are working on projects in the outer islands roaming around mainland building sites and offering really interesting deals for anyone who is prepared to move offshore.

There are a lot of takers as the benefits, such as free accommodation and meals, add to the value of the deal.

The mainland contractors are retaliating with some degree of success.

Availability of construction equipment

Another issue is the availability of construction equipment.

There is such a dearth of equipment that even machines, like excavators, which were abandoned as not worth repairing a year ago, are suddenly with mechanics and on offer for sale or lease.

No matter what the age, these are being snapped up simply because there are no other options.

A number of people are buying second hand equipment out of Australia and New Zealand and shipping it in on pre-sale orders.

Operators for this equipment remain a real issue and in a number of cases executives have been dragged into operating on site.

Another issue that has not yet hit the building industry but will become a problem as more projects come on line and the demand for things on short notice grows rapidly will be shortages.

Already, there are delays with some lines that are imported from offshore but there are currently alternatives available.

Many of the prices have risen on the growth in demand and contractors who have signed fixed rate contracts are now concerned about the viability of the work they need to do.

There are also a number of people who are placing orders now for future delivery dates and so far most suppliers are accepting these, but there is doubt in the industry that these suppliers will honour the agreement and deliver on due date.

There is no legal reason why they need to do so, as a local purchase order is not a contract and it will be hard for the suppliers to resist the temptation to sell when it arrives, especially as the price will in many cases, be higher than that on the LPO.

A number of large contractors are also buying and importing from overseas, or considering doing so. In the long term this is not good for the local economy, but may well be necessary.

Already there is evidence of contractors who are supplying fill to civil sites diverting deliveries to other sites with a later contract at a higher price, creating issues for the developers.

Shortage of cement

The cement shortage the country experienced a short time ago has focussed the attention of the construction industry on the difficulties they will start to face in the near future as the demand outpaces the demand and projects, or at last certain sections of projects are delayed while the contractor sources material.

It also had the effect of showing contractors that they did not necessarily need to rely on the local building supply retailers but that it was simply to source from overseas, particularly for common items.

Many builders have been sourcing a range of products from offshore suppliers over the last several years and China has particularly developed good business out of the Fijian market.

The large operators, led by the giant on-line supplier Alibaba, have educated Fijian customers and the business of importing hardware and other material has become very simple and easy.

There is a lot of interchange of information amongst builders and contractors in Fiji and the idea is spreading that importing is a viable option. Fijian builders have also travelled overseas for holidays and have seen the way hardware retailers in Australia, New Zealand and the USA operate and the vast range of products they have in stock.

They see the prices are not only competitive but that companies such as Bunnings, Home Depot and others are well set up to service their orders.

The issue that holds Fijian builders back from using these suppliers is that they are generally only looking for a small volume of each item and the cost of freight and the associated costs of import services make the end price unattractive.

Ideally, local companies could join together as a buying group, but this would be cumbersome and take a lot of effort to control, so for the immediate future they need to find ways to work around shortages without losing too much production time.

The local hardware groups have recognised the issue and are trying to put answers in place, but the relatively small size of the market makes holding wide inventories uneconomical and makes the need to import a significant volume of items a necessity.

And the builders and contractors will continue to be creative in the way they get around the lack of specific items, usually by substituting.

One thing is for sure, the construction industry will continue to grow at a fast rate and shortages will be a part of life.

For the tourism industry, the biggest sector involved in the current construction boom, it is something that needs to be watched closely.

It is also certain that offshore hardware retailers are looking at Fiji with a lot of interest considering the fast growth over the last year or so.

Credit: John Ross, 16 September, 2017.

Momi land conversion issue is confidential and should not be raised by Acting PM

SODELPA parliamentarian Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu failed in his attempt in parliament today to try to get Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum to stop talking about the SDL government converting the iTaukei land in Momi to freehold land during Ratu Naiqama’s term as Lands Minister.

Ratu Naiqama rose on a point of order, saying that the cabinet decision on the conversion of the land was confidential.

Sayed-Khaiyum raised the issue to highlight that some within SODELPA including Ratu Naiqama who are calling for a change in the constitution were actually involved in permanently alienating iTaukei land in Momi.

He said the same was done in Denarau.

Speaker Doctor Jiko Luveni said that the parliamentarians enjoy freedom of speech and Sayed-Khaiyum has the right to speak on the issue.

He says the law was profoundly flawed at the time as it meant that the then government converted iTaukei land to freehold land and permanently alienated it from the landowning units.

Sayed-Khaiyum says under the 2013 constitution, no iTaukei land can be permanently alienated.

He says there was no constitutional provision in the 1970, 1990 and 1997 constitutions that iTaukei land can never be permanently alienated.

He also said that a group of men decided at Marlborough House what should be in Fiji’s 1970 constitution, and after the two 1987 coups staged by Sitiveni Rabuka, the 1970 constitution was abrogated and then a 1990 constitution was brought in which entrenched skewered ethnic voting and did not get approval by parliament.

Sayed-Khaiyum said that during the review of the 1990 constitution, the Reeves Commission recommended that we need to move away from race based voting and there should be more open seats than ethnic seats.

However this was not followed as majority of the seats were race based seats in the 1997 constitution where only people belonging to the same ethnic community could only vote for a person who belonged to their own ethnic group.

He says even before independence in 1970, the NFP which was then led by AD Patel and SM Koya had stressed that there should be open seats and no more race based seats after independence.

Sayed-Khaiyum says the Sir Lawrence Street Commission had also recommended that Fiji should move away from race based seats however the then Prime Minister, the late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara did not action this.

Credit:Vijay Narayan,14.09.2017

Costly property disputes in Fiji for Australians after buying land from fake chiefs

Australians are winding up in costly property disputes in Fiji after buying land from “fake chiefs” who are not the rightful owners.

The Courier Mail reports that former Gold Coast lawyer Sean Cousins is warning holiday makers not to fall for the “convincing” scams after discovering he had leased a 100 metres stretch of beachfront land from a vendor who was not the village chief as claimed.

He says Australians, New Zealanders, Americans and Germans should be aware that there are a number of Fijian people who claim to own the land and sell it to them and they don’t own it.

Former Gold Coast lawyer Sean Cousins

A regular visitor to Fiji, he had started looking for land three years ago when he was approached with an offer “too good to refuse” involving land in a popular tourist area.

Cousins says the man introduced himself as the chief and the landowner and he showed him his father’s grave and his two brothers’ graves.

He says it was all very convincing.

There were about five or six houses and it really did appear to be one little family village.

They reached an agreement and he started paying a monthly fee to the “chief” to lease the land, then spent about $70,000 Australian dollars building a house on the block.

Locals subsequently informed him the land belonged to a larger gazetted village and he discovered he had been paying the wrong person.

He went to court in conjunction with the “real chief”, Ratu Taniela Gonerara, and won a judgment against the vendor in June for repayment of FJD$24,400.

Ratu Taniela Gonerara with his daughter Adi Tavo

Cousins subsequently obtained court orders bankrupting the vendor, and the real chief this week moved to evict the villagers involved.

We will have more on this issue later today.

Credit: Vijay Narayan, 11 September, 2017

New Home Loan Package Launched by HFC Bank

HFC Bank has today launched a new home loan package for Fijians who want to buy or build their first home.

Speaking at today’s launch Acting CEO Raj Sharma says that with this new package customers will be able to take advantage of the 4.25 percent a year interest rate fixed for 5 years.

Sharma says that new home owners or single applicants will need to have an annual income of $50,000 or less to qualify for this scheme.

He adds that customers will also be able to benefit from the 10 percent equity requirement.

Government’s announcement of $60 million budget allocation to the Reserve Bank of Fiji for approved lenders will allow new home owners to receive $10,000 if they’re building their first residential home or $5,000 for those intending to buy their first home.

Credit: Save Waqa and Jack Charters, Fijivillage.com, 09 September 2017.

 

Fiji Housing Authority to Facilitate Developments and Construction Works

In a historic move by the Housing Authority of Fiji, an in-house construction arm was launched within the company on Monday.

The launch marked the company’s bid to facilitate development and construction for home buyers in consultation with contractors and heavy machinery providers.

The initiative also aims to submit design plans for houses as well as building concept.

According to its chief executive officer Punit Sethi the project involves two aspects namely the construction of houses and the development of land.

He said previously home buyers had to depend on other companies to build their houses for them.

This new initiative enables housing authority to provide the complete package to customers.

“For the first time in the history of the Housing Authority, such process of construction arm (EPC-Engineering, Procurement & Construction) is being implemented on the ground,” Mr Sethi said.

“This is to facilitate cheaper development cost and allow for more affordable lots. Should this be successful it will be considered for future Housing Authority developments and construction.

“The ultimate objective of this initiative is to reduce the construction cost and pass the benefits to the deserving customers of Housing Authority.”

Mr Sethi stated that the program is being tried for civil works development at Tacirua East Stage 2 Sub Division, Phase 3A.

Adding that it will then be extended to other areas namely Nepani, Nasinu and Matavolivoli in Nadi.

Mr Sethi also acknowledged his hardworking staff who burnt the midnight oil to get the project running.

“This is an initiative through a concerted effort of all Housing Authority Departments including the technical, finance, lending and Customer Relation departments that enabled us to try out this concept in-house,” he said.

“A key requirement is to maintain the production of quality products that is both affordable and fulfils all statutory requirements.”

Moving forward, the housing authority is also considering the construction of singular houses and the strata units on the same basis to allow housing authority to produce more affordable Land & House packages.

Credit: Fonua Talei ,06 September,2017.