ST KITTS & NEVIS Law and Practice Contributed by: Dahlia Joseph Rowe and Daisy Joseph Andall, Joseph Rowe, Attorneys-at-Law
6.12 Restrictions on the Use of Real Estate A landlord can include in the lease restrictions on how the tenant uses the real estate. Typically, a lease would indicate that the premises is not to be used for any other purpose than what is set out in the lease. Further, the premises may be subject to zoning regulations and restrictive covenants attached to the property, with which the tenant would be required to comply (see 2.8 Permitted Uses of Real Estate Under Zoning or Planning Law ). 6.13 Tenant’s Ability to Alter and Improve Real Estate The rental agreement would normally outline whether a tenant is permitted to alter or improve the real estate and the extent of such changes. In order to safeguard against the premises being altered in a way that is not acceptable, the land - lord would generally request that the tenant seek permission to make alterations or improve - ments, and expressly state that the tenant is not allowed to make structural changes, or changes that may change the character of the premises. How alterations and improvements are treated is a matter for negotiation between the parties. 6.14 Specific Regulations There are no specific regulations or laws that apply to leases of particular categories of real estate. However, there may be legislation that governs the area in which the real estate is locat - ed – for example, the St Kitts (Planned Commu - nity) Act – or covenants applicable to a particular piece of real estate that may affect how a tenant may use a rental property. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the government has enacted a series of emergency
shared parking lot or gardens – the maintenance and repair of those spaces would generally be paid by the landlord. However, if the building is on a small lot that is not shared, the tenant would usually be required to maintain and keep in good repair the garden, parking lot and other sur - roundings associated with the rental property. 6.10 Payment of Utilities and Telecommunications Usually, each tenant is responsible for the utili - ties and telecommunications charges associ - ated with its tenancy. It is preferable for each tenant to have a separate meter for electricity and the reading provided each month so that the appropriate payment may be made. If the utilities are not separated – for example, water – they may be charged by the landlord at a flat rate per month as agreed by the landlord and the tenant. Typically, for services such as internet and cable, the tenant would set up its own connection and would be directly responsible for the charges to The insurance for the real estate subject to a lease is typically paid for by the landlord. It would usually cover structural damage by flood, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis and other natu - ral disasters but it would not usually cover the contents of the building, as that would typically be for the tenant to insure. the relevant companies. 6.11 Insurance Issues The authors are not aware of any case in which tenants recovered rent payments or other costs under business interruption insurance policies as a result of office closures and clean-up costs incurred during the coronavirus pandemic. As far as the authors are aware, business interruption insurance policies are not commonplace in St Kitts and Nevis.
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