Land registration regimes in Ghana by Justice Alexander Osei Tutu

Over 98 per cent of land in the country cannot be registered with a title. The situation makes it extremely difficult for purchasers to properly secure such lands, leaving them vulnerable in land disputes.

A Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Alexander Osei -Tutu, who made the assertion, explained that only the Greater Accra Region, some parts of Kumasi,  Kasoa and its environs had been declared as registration districts, with the rest of the country not having that status.

He described the situation as unfair and a major factor in the incessant land disputes across the country.

Context

Land title registration provides an indefeasible title as it ensures a state-guaranteed title, but under the current legal regime, only lands that fall within areas designated by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources as registration districts can be registered for title. Those outside such districts rely on deed registration.

Criticism

The Justice of the Court of Appeal criticised the fact that although land title registration was introduced 40 years ago through the Land Title Registration Law, 1986 (PNDCL 152), which had been further inculcated in the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036), more than 13 regions are yet to be declared registration districts.

“A prolonged delay for title registration throughout the country progressively widens the gate of land disputes as deeds registration under the law has the latitude of registering multiple instruments relating to the same parcel of land,” he pointed out in a yet to be published article exclusively sighted by the Daily Graphic.

He therefore called for the expansion of the registration districts to other parts of the country to provide people with a more robust mechanism of protection in the acquisition of land.

98% of lands can’t be registered in Ghana – Owners at risk in disputes