In Vanuatu, 'Land Lease Registration' refers to the official legal documents or system containing the records or information concerning a plot of land.

What does 'registering land' involve?

A register is an official system for recording land. To register land means to record some official documents that contain the 'legal interests' of that particular land.

You are not required by Law to register the ownership of the land.

 

What is recorded in the Land Lease Register?

The following are the elements recorded, in French and English, in a register:

• The type of land or property you are leasing or sub-leasing.
• The names of the lessor and lessee, sub-lessor and sub-lessee.
• Any mortgage on the land which is on the lease or sub-lease agreement.
• Transfer of the lease or sub-lease.
• The easements or other encumbrances of the lease you have registered.
• The cautions or concerns indicated by the person who has an interest in the land.

 

What are the advantages of Land Lease Registration?

 

• Registration protects the rights of those who register the land against those who do not register.
• It provides security on the land for future descendants. When you register your land you are securing it so as to avoid any future dispute or conflict on the land.
• Security for obtaining a loan in that you can use the land as guarantee to obtain a loan from the bank to develop the land or to start a business.
• It is easy to transfer landfrom a person to another person.

 

What are the disadvantages of a Land Lease Registration?

 

• It removes the land from the custom owner and places it in the Lease system.
• It is easy for a person to obtain money from it in that a lease can be transferred to another person or developer.
• A person may make a decision concerning the land without consulting the family or community which gives rise to disputes (Current land laws do not provide any protection against this but the Government is currently working on amending these laws to prevent these actions).
• When you register your lease, make sure that you pay for the land rent every year. If you fail to do so, you may lose the land through forfeiture.
• If you want to recover your land at the end of the lease term, you must pay the lessee for the improvements made on the land such as buildings. If you do not have the money, it will be very difficult to do this.

 

 

Can anyone claim a registered land?

No. A person who is not registered cannot claim any interest in that land if such an interest does not match any interest in the registered document. A person who makes a late registration cannot claim for an interest that differs from what is in the initially registered document.

There are certain exceptions to the protection provided by the register, these exceptions are to protect public utilities (such as electricity lines, water supply pipelines) and those whom the lessee knows were living on that land at the time of its registration of lease and sub-lease of not more than 3 years or who are living on a 'periodic tenancy' (which means they come in at the same time every month or year to do something).

 

What is a caution?

When a person claims that they have a legal interest on a land that he has not registered, he can make a 'caution' to the register. For instance, a person who has a right of access on that land. A 'caution' is a kind of warning to the the people who have leased the land in question. When you make a caution to the register, you are protecting your interest against those of other people.

 

What kind of land interest can you register?

You must register:

• A lease or sub-lease of more than 3 years, or if you transfer the lease or sub-lease.
• Mortgage on a land that has been leased for more than 3 years.
• Easements, restrictive covenants and profits on the leased land.
• A licence or permission to use a land that has not been registered.

 

Can the Government register or lease your land?

The Government cannot register or lease your land without you, your family and your community's consent as the custom land owners.

If the Government wishes to take your land and develop it for schools, airports, clinics and other such developments, it must first consult you and your family and then pay compensation to you and your family for the use of the your land.

What do I need to register a lease?

 

• You must obtain permission from the Government if you intend to grant a lease or sub-lease to a non Ni-Vanuatu.
• You must survey your land if you wish to lease your land.
• The Lessee must register this lease at the Land Registry and pay all the required fees for the registration of land.

Where do I register?

You can only register at the Land Registry the Department of Lands Office in Port Vila only.