Government to Commence Public Consultations on Proposed Residential Tenancy and Older Persons Protection Legislation

The Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda has formally received notification that the Ministry of Legal Affairs, operating under the oversight of the national Attorney General, is set to roll out a series of public stakeholder consultations for two landmark 2026 draft bills, as part of the administration’s ongoing national legislative modernization agenda. The two proposed pieces of legislation are the Landlord and Tenant (Residential Tenancies) Bill 2026 and the Older Persons (Care and Protection) Bill 2026, both crafted to update long-outdated legal frameworks and deliver more robust, targeted safeguards for segments of the population that have faced unaddressed systemic gaps under current rules. The first scheduled public consultation is set to kick off at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 12, 2026, hosted at the country’s Parliament Building. Organizers have extended open invitations to all relevant stakeholder groups, including residential property owners, renters, real estate industry practitioners, licensed legal professionals, and any members of the general public with a vested interest in the policy outcomes. The residential tenancies bill was developed in direct response to years of shared grievances from both landlords and tenants, spanning unregulated rental hikes, opaque late payment penalty structures, disputes over unpaid rent, ambiguous liability for outstanding utility bills, and poorly defined contractual obligations for both parties under existing rental agreements. The current governing rules for residential rentals, a patchwork of the decades-old Small Tenements Act and Rent Restriction Act, are widely acknowledged as misaligned with the dynamics of Antigua and Barbuda’s 21st century housing market, failing to resolve frequent, recurring disputes between property owners and renters. The upcoming consultation session will give every attendee a formal platform to share on-the-ground experiences, voice concerns, and submit actionable recommendations to shape the final legislation into a balanced, clear set of rules that deliver fair, equitable protections for all parties to a residential tenancy agreement. Parallel to the rental law reform, the administration is advancing the Older Persons (Care and Protection) Bill 2026, a targeted policy package designed to overhaul the country’s fragmented legal support system for elderly residents. The draft legislation is tailored to address long-documented vulnerabilities facing the aging population, including elevated risks of neglect, financial and physical abuse, and gaps in access to adequate residential and home-based care. The new framework is intended to create a more responsive, enforceable set of safeguards to preserve the wellbeing of senior citizens, particularly those who no longer have the capacity to independently advocate for their own safety and interests. Stakeholder groups invited to contribute feedback on the elderly care bill include senior residents themselves, family caregivers, formal care providers, social work professionals, healthcare practitioners, residential aged care facility operators, and civil society advocacy organizations focused on aging rights. Antigua and Barbuda’s Cabinet has emphasized that inclusive, meaningful public input is a non-negotiable prerequisite for drafting legislation that is practical, equitable, and aligned with the real, lived needs of the national population. All feedback and recommendations collected during the consultation process will be reviewed in full by the Ministry of Legal Affairs to revise and refine the draft provisions before the two bills move forward to formal parliamentary debate and the full legislative approval process. The two concurrent reform initiatives underscore the sitting government’s long-stated policy commitment to systematically modernize the country’s legal code, strengthen protections for vulnerable community members, and ensure that the rights and corresponding responsibilities of all residents are clearly defined, enforceable, and universally respected.