– unauthorised construction triggers enforcement action at Le Ressouvenir

THE Ministry of Housing – Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) has issued a Notice of Contravention to a resident who constructed a house on an unallocated commercial lot at Plantation Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara, giving her one month to demolish the structure and relocate to her officially assigned residential lot.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, the Ministry said the woman was allocated Parcel 394 at the Le Ressouvenir Housing Scheme but proceeded to construct her house on Parcel 460, a commercial lot that was never assigned to her.
The Ministry said the matter was discovered during strengthened monitoring and enforcement operations across housing schemes, rejecting claims circulating on social media that its surveyors had misdirected the allottee or shown her the wrong property.
According to the Ministry, Parcel 460 was never identified, assigned or allocated to the woman, and constructing on the property constituted a violation of the terms of her official allocation.
A Notice of Contravention was issued on September 18, 2026, allowing the allottee one month to demolish the unauthorised structure and move to her designated residential lot.
The Ministry said the woman subsequently requested ownership of the commercial parcel on which she had built, but the request was refused because the property was not part of her allocation.
During an engagement with a Ministry of Housing staff member on September 24, on the sidelines of a community engagement at Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, the woman reportedly acknowledged that she knew she had constructed on the wrong lot.
Following the discovery, the Ministry said the allottee was engaged and informed of the steps required to resolve the matter. Arrangements were also made for CH&PA surveyors to identify and show her the residential lot officially allocated to her.
Despite the unauthorised construction, the Ministry said it facilitated the provision of a Steel and Cement Housing Subsidy voucher to assist the woman in commencing foundation works on her allocated property.
The Ministry reiterated that receiving a house-lot allocation does not entitle an individual to occupy or build on any parcel of land of their choosing, stressing the importance of verifying property locations and boundaries before beginning construction.
Allottees are being urged to consult CH&PA surveyors to confirm their assigned lots before undertaking building works, as failure to do so can result in unlawful occupation, encroachment on other properties, financial losses and enforcement action.
The Ministry said it would continue to strengthen monitoring and enforcement across housing schemes to ensure compliance with established requirements and protect the integrity of the land-allocation process.
The development comes amid the Ministry’s continued efforts to ensure that residential and commercial lots within housing schemes are occupied and used in accordance with their designated purposes and the conditions governing their allocation.