The Service charge is a fee paid to the Lucaya Service Company Limited (LUSCO) for the up keep and maintenance of subdivisions within Lucaya. This includes the paving of the roads, installation of traffic circles, cleaning of parks and beaches, mowing of verges (grassy areas adjacent to roads) and the entire upkeep of Lucaya area.

The requirement to pay the Service Charge is contained in your Purchase and Sales Agreement and Conveyance with The Grand Bahama Development Company Limited (DEVCO). This is a contractual agreement and if you fail to pay the service charge for a specified period of time you jeopardise the title to your property.

The cost of goods and services rises and falls depending on the economy. LUSCO’s costs in maintaining Lucaya similarly fluctuates. A Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is made to the service charge every three years to ensure that LUSCO can keep apace with the cost of the services it provides.

At LUSCO we are very concerned about the increased incidences of indiscriminate dumping in Lucaya and on our island as a whole. If you see an area being used for dumping or see persons engaging in this activity, please contact us. We will arrange to have the debris removed.

Email us at [ccartwright@gbdevco.com] or phone at [350-9064] or notify us using the Freeport Report App which can be downloaded on Google Play or Android for no charge.

Even though there may be no development in the area where your lot is located, service charges are used to maintain the entire Lucaya area. Service charge expenditure is not limited to the maintenance and improvement of the area in which the lot is located.

In the case of the property in a fixed charge subdivision, you are invoiced annually in advance on January 1 of each year for the charge applicable to that year as stated in your contract. In the pro-rata subdivision, the actual costs of maintenance are recorded by the Lucaya Service Company for each calendar year. The expenses are pro-rated to all landowners in your subdivision based on the area of each property. The invoices for such charges are mailed to landowners usually in April following the end of the calendar year to which they refer.

We are not in a position to interpret the taxation regulations of every country in which our landowners are located and we would, therefore, suggest that you should refer this matter to your own taxation consultants.