De Weever submitted the draft ordinance on January 14 as part of his sweeping proposals to improve existing timeshare consumer protection legislation in the civil code and to create a regulatory body to monitor the timeshare industry.

 

The "De Weever Ordinance" as some are already calling it, currently is with the advisory council before eventually making its way to Parliament for debate and possible approval. The draft legislation is in English.

 

The veteran legislator took into consideration the motion passed by Parliament on June 29, 2011 for the creation of a timeshare regulatory body. That motion recognized that "the timeshare industry is of vital importance to St. Maarten's economy, therefore any negative events and developments may imply serious consequences." It was recommended to establish a timeshare regulatory board with the authority to monitor, supervise and enforce compliance with timeshare legislation on St. Maarten.

 

"Globally, timeshare plans exist in many forms. The laws of St. Maarten provide for plans that include rights of apartment with specific legal rights derived there from, and plans based on rights of usage, which are similar to prepaid rental of transient accommodations. Timeshare is unique in that it is neither a primary residential dwelling nor a financial investment. Timeshare is intended for long term recreational use, i.e. vacation experiences. This resilient industry presents benefits and challenges to St. Maarten," De Weever outlined in his general remarks and motivations for the ordinance.

 

However, he continued, given its unique legal form, timeshare requires particular legislative and regulatory treatment in order to balance the competing obligations and rights of the key industry players, i.e., the developer, the management company, and the timeshare user.

 

Purpose

The aim and purpose of the SXMTA will be to resolve issues between the aforementioned parties in a "tourism friendly, expeditious and fair manner." As a service to the consumer and the timeshare businesses the SXMTA will be empowered to receive consumer complaints and address concerns to facilitate several processes in order to resolve issues related to such complaints or concerns.

 

The SXMTA will also be responsible for advising and making recommendations to relevant governmental agencies in the case of violations of the timeshare laws and regulations, to suspend a company's business licence for material and repeated violations of timeshare laws and regulations, which may include, without limitation, the imposition of administrative fines on timeshare companies.

 

Structure

The SXMTA shall have a Director who reports to the Board and will be responsible for executing the daily activities of the SXMTA. This Director shall, subject to approval by the board, draw up a Timeshare Consumer's Bill of Rights, which will summarize the legal rights of the St. Maarten timeshare consumer as established by Civil Code and national ordinance. The Timeshare Consumer Bill of Rights shall also describe the services available and how a consumer may access the services of the SXMTA as outlined in the ordinance.

 

The previously mentioned board of the SXMTA shall consist of five (5) persons including the Chairman. All Board members must be legal residents of St. Maarten. The Board will be responsible for supervising the Director's performance of his or her obligations under the ordinance and managing the affairs of the SXMTA. The members of the Board are appointed by the responsible Minister for a period of three years.

 

One member shall be nominated by the Government, one member nominated by the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce, two members shall be nominated by the St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA) and one member shall be nominated by the St. Maarten Bar Association. The Minister appoints the Chairman of the Board from amongst the members. The position of the Chairman shall be for two (2) years and the Chairman may be re-appointed for no more than one (l) additional term.

 

Consumer Issues

The ordinance acknowledges that "minor issues" relating to the timeshare industry may surface. It is not the intent of the legislation that the SXMTA get involved in such minor issues except to facilitate communication between consumers and timeshare service providers. Recurring patterns of minor issues involving the same timeshare service provider may indicate the existence of more serious issues and will be diligently monitored by the Director by means of maintaining statistics on minor issues brought to the attention of SXMTA.

 

Regarding other issues, the legislation recognizes the "more than one side to a story", concept and outlines that the timeshare service provider will always be encouraged to resolve the issue directly with the timeshare consumer in the first instance, as well as to file a rebuttal to any timeshare consumer complaint with the SXMTA. These "other issues" are identified as sales, operational and public safety related issues. Each are clearly defined in the legislation.

 

Confidence

According to De Weever, this new regulatory body will provide greater confidence to prospective timeshare consumers and strengthen rights and protections of current timeshare users, which will foster the long-term growth potential of the timeshare industry and revitalize the economic viability of St. Maarten's tourism marketplace.

 

In light of the fact that most of the developers and the consumers of the timeshare product in St. Maarten are fluent in the English language, and not in the Dutch language, it was determined that the ordinance would be written in the English language, as permitted by the Constitution of St. Maarten. English and Dutch are the official languages of

St. Maarten.

 

(The Daily Herald)