Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources

Lease Registration

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What does 'Land Lease Registration' mean?

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.

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