There can be little doubt that the proposed Registration (Shared Community) Bill, 2026 will affect tens of thousands of Jamaicans. Although there is no official count of the number of gated communities across the island, their proliferation over the past decade is enough to make the scale of the legislation’s potential impact abundantly clear.

This is no ordinary piece of legislation. Its provisions carry significant financial and legal implications for property owners and residents, including mandatory maintenance contributions, fines of up to $1 million for breaches of community by-laws, and, perhaps most concerning, the seizure and possible sale of property to recover outstanding fees.

That alone should convince lawmakers that this Bill demands careful examination and extensive public education before it is passed.

We therefore welcome the intervention by Member of Parliament for St Andrew South Eastern Mr Julian Robinson, who last Thursday urged the joint select committee examining the legislation to go beyond merely inviting written submissions and organise an online public education session to explain its main provisions in language ordinary homeowners can understand.

His suggestion that the Bill be effectively ‘JAMAL-ised’ is particularly apt — reference here being made to the Jamaican Movement for the Advancement of Literacy (JAMAL), which was launched by the Government in October 1974 to eradicate adult illiteracy.

Legal language can be intimidating and, even for reasonably informed citizens, the implications of 60 sections and three schedules dealing with community corporations, financial obligations, enforcement powers, and property rights may not be immediately apparent.

As Mr Robinson rightly observed, there may be considerable concern among residents without a corresponding understanding of what the legislation proposes.

We believe the committee should embrace his recommendation wholeheartedly. Indeed, given the potential reach of this legislation, public education must be treated as an essential part of the parliamentary review.

While an online session would allow wider participation by Jamaicans across the island, it should not be the only avenue for engagement. As such, we agree with permanent secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development Ms Arlene Williams that the committee should also consider an in-person town hall meeting, even as we suggest that the legislators stage more than one town hall meeting.

There is considerable value in face-to-face discussions, particularly when dealing with matters as personal as the security of one’s property and the financial obligations attached to homeownership. Such meetings could also help lawmakers appreciate the practical realities of managing shared communities, which may differ considerably from one development to another.

We also support the proposal for committee members to visit an existing shared community. Understanding how these developments operate in practice should help inform the committee’s deliberations and guard against provisions that may prove impractical or unduly burdensome.

We appreciate that the legislation has been in development for more than eight years and that there is a legitimate need to address long-standing difficulties involving maintenance, accountability, common property, and the enforcement of community decisions.

However, given the scale of its potential effect, lawmakers must resist any temptation to hurry the process at the expense of meaningful public consultation. Getting this legislation right is considerably more important than getting it passed quickly.

Homeowners, too, must pay keen attention. A law with such far-reaching consequences should never take effect before those expected to live under it have had a fair opportunity to understand and scrutinise it.