Several tenants at popular St Andrew food, recreational and tourism attraction Devon House are reportedly crying foul over dramatic hikes in lease and maintenance fees by the property’s management.

The Jamaica Observer was reliably informed that the property managers have significantly increased rates, leaving at least four restaurateurs at the location, whose leases had expired, reeling.

One of the affected tenants shared that his total rent and maintenance costs have increased more than four-fold to $3.2 million effective June 1, a result of the rate hike, coupled with a recalculation of the space occupied by the business. This, he claimed, was taking place despite what he said was inadequate maintenance at the property.

“They don’t maintain in here, and they don’t do anything but yet they are saying they are going to charge us for the square footage, and it’s about four of us that are going to be faced with these exorbitant costs. Just to give an example, my rent is moving from $700,000 a month to $3 million,” the businessman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Observer.

“I don’t know which business could deal with a change and an increase like that,” he added, sharing that another tenant’s lease and maintenance costs have jumped from $600,000 to $1.5 million.

He expressed concerns about the future of the affected businesses in light of the increases, adding that other tenants were “keeping quiet” while holding out hope for more favourable terms.

“Persons are keeping quiet because everybody thinks they are going to be able to work out some deal. But that’s not the fact. I have had my meetings, and I realise that my next approach is that I may have to go through arbitration, through the [Rent Assessment Board] because that’s the next step that speaks to our lease,” he said.

When Observer reached out to the chief executive officer of Devon House, Georgia Robinson, for a comment regarding the allegations, we were told to send our queries via e-mail. Up to publication time, the responses were not received.

According to the Rent Assessment Board, landlords are allowed to increase rent by 7.5 per cent annually. If a landlord wants an increase that is more than 7.5 per cent, he/she has to go to the board for permission.

During a meeting between tenants and the Devon House property management team last Friday, attended by this reporter, the tenants raised concerns over what they said were several shortcomings in the amenities being provided at the location compared to a modern facility.

Among the alleged shortcomings were lack of a backup generator, water tanks and pumps, poor Internet access, limited closed circuit television (CCTV), and inadequate garbage collection and pest control.

Meanwhile, some tenants shared that they have constantly been plagued by rats and roaches.

“My main issue would be around rats. I can show you my nightly CCTV movement based on it,” one tenant complained.

Another tenant argued that the quality of the infrastructure at Devon House should determine the rates for rent paid by tenants.

“The buildings and the structures are very poor, which dictates what rates we should be charged based on the comparison to what is out there in the market. These factors are what is causing the pest, water leakage… because of the infrastructure,” the tenant said, arguing that the new rate should be reviewed.

Robinson, however, pushed back at the suggestion, noting that the solution would not be to adjust the rate but to fix the issues raised.

“If we have an issue with rats and roaches, the solution is not to adjust the rate. We have to find a fix for that situation,” she said.

Robinson noted that a more in-depth assessment will be done to tackle the problems.