Will the tenants really kill my son over the family home?

QUESTION: Dear Legal Wiz,

My son is living by himself, at the home left by my deceased father. He is being threatened by the tenants who want to take over the home. The water bill down there is sky high. They already hit him, but he is holding ground for the rent. He already took them to Court and got orders for possession in Court, but those orders are over two years old.
He says they are threatening to kill him, if he tries to put them out, so what can he do? We need the property to do our business and if these people refuse to pay rent, we need to do other things for the monies.

RESPONSE: Dear Clarence,
First of all, you will need to ask an independent person with experience in such matters to assist him, and you must empower them with a power of attorney. Make no joke about any threats on your son’s life. The threats are to be reported to the Police for them to take action. Hopefully when he was hit, he actually went in to the Police and is ensuring that they are following up with him and the tenants. They will tell him what else to do, if it was reported for his own safety and to ensure its dealt with efficiently.
Regarding the orders for recovery of possession, they can be reissued if your son makes a proper application through the Courts. So he needs to do this quickly, and secure both the assistance of the Court, the Police, and family members as priority.
It may be wise to ask him to leave the premises until everything is over. If he insists on staying there alone he is only asking for trouble.
Regarding the property, your other siblings in Jamaica and you should also work at getting administration for the property, since your dad left no will. If the water bill remains high, the National Water Commission has the right to take legal steps to seize and sell your property to recover outstanding balances. You and your siblings may want to sell the property or do something else yourself, so get the administration sorted out so you can be in legal control.
All the best. Contact us further for any other assistance as you wish.

Legal Wiz

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