THE LAND ACT, 2020

BY
SURV. K. OWUSU-POKU (FGhIS)

1
1
OUTLINE
 Introduction
 Background
 Land Policy
 The LAP
 Drafting History
 Objectives
 Structure
 Key Provisions
 Conclusion

2
Introduction
 The Lands Commission is the key Public agency
with the responsibility for ensuring an efficient land
administration and management system in the
country to support the national development
agenda.
 The efficient land administration system can only
function within a strong legal framework.

3
DRAFTING HISTORY
 National Land Policy (1999) identified the challenges in the
land administration system to include a weak legal and
judicial system.
 The Land Policy called for the Land Act by a review of the
existing laws.
 Primary review by Kotey and Associates in 2005
 Three drafts of the Land Bill were prepared by different
legal teams.
 A Working Group of legal and land experts was formed by
the Ministry
 A Core Team was selected
 Extensive stakeholder consultations were carried out. 4
OBJECTIVES OF THE LAND ACT
 The objective of the Act is to revise and consolidate the
laws on land, with the view to harmonizing these laws to
ensure sustainable land administration and management,
effective land tenure and efficient surveying and mapping
regimes and to provide for related matters.
 This was achieved through:
 Consolidating with amendments the existing land
related laws
 Filling in the gaps in the existing law by the addition of
new provisions.
 A lot of the new provisions touch on the area of
transparency and accountability.
5
OBJECTIVES OF THE LAND ACT
The Land Act takes into account provisions of the constitution,
statute laws, administrative instructions, judicial decisions, common
law and customary law principles.
The Act repeals the following legislations.
 Land Development (Protection of Purchasers) Act, 1960 (Act 2);
 Farm Lands (Protection) Act, 1962 (Act 107);
 Land Registry Act, 1962 (Act 122);
 Administration of Lands Act, 1962 (Act 123);
 State Lands Act, 1962 (Act 125);
 Section 11 of the Survey Act, 1962 (Act 127);
 Lands (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1963 (Act 161);
 Public Conveyancing Act, 1965 (Act 302);
 Rent Stabilisation Act, 1966 (N.L.C.D. 49);
 Rent Stabilisation Act (Amendment) Act, 1966 (N.L.C.D. 103);
 Conveyancing Act, 1973 (N.R.C.D. 175);
 Public Lands (Protection) Act, 1974 (N.R.C.D. 240); and
 Land Title Registration Act, 1986 (P.N.D.C.L. 152).
6
STRUCTURE OF THE LAND ACT
The Act is structured into three parts.
 Part One – Interests in Land
 Part Two - Land Administration and
Management
 This Part has 9 chapters
 Part Three – Offences and Miscellaneous
Provisions
PART ONE
 This part defines the various interests in land
and the incidents thereto.
 Allodial title, Customary law freehold, Common
law freehold, Usufructuary interest, Leases,
Customary tenancy.
 Legal recognition is given to long peaceful
occupation of land by non-indigene settlers who
on account of the length of their occupation, may
considered as assimilated into the community and
cannot therefore be displaced. Section 5(1)(b)
Examples of such settlements are Sukura, Nima
and Madina in Accra.
PART ONE - INTERESTS IN LAND
 Accountability of Managers of Customary Lands
 Sections 13 to 22 provide for Customary Land
Management. It provides for the management of
clan and family lands in the same manner as stool
and skin lands.
 Section 13 emphasises the fiduciary nature of the
role of chiefs, Tendana, clan and family heads in the
administration of customary lands and makes
provision for the managers of these land to be
accountable in the same manner as family heads
under the Family Head Accountability Act, 1985
(P.N.D.C.L. 114) .
PART ONE - INTERESTS IN LAND
• Section 10 -Restrictions on Acquisition of Land by
Non-Ghanaians
The restrictions imposed on a non-citizen in acquiring land
shall not be affected by his marriage to a Ghanaian or by the
entry into of a partnership with a Ghanaian.
• Section 10(10) A company or corporate entity is not a
citizen “if more than forty percent of the equity share
holding is held by non-citizens.”

Section 11-Prohibition of Discriminatory Practices

Section 11 prohibits discriminatory practices in relation
to land in accordance with article 17 of the Constitution.
PART ONE - INTERESTS IN LAND

 Prohibition of Harassment of Land Developers

 Section 12 provides for protection of land and penalises
persons who prevent land owners from developing their
land or unlawfully hold themselves as the supervisors of
the development of lands in which they have no
interest.
 Encroachment Control by Court Injunction
 An owner of land may apply to a court for an
interlocutory injunction against an unlawful encroacher
on the land even though the encroacher is unknown to
the owner.
PART TWO - LAND ADMINISTRATION AND LAND
MANAGEMENT
• CUSTOMARY LAND MANAGEMENT
• Section 14 to 18 - Customary Land Secretariats
Customary Land Secretariats (CLSs) first set under LAP 1
have been given legal recognition under Sections 14-18.
They are set up and owned by the Customary land
owners. They are to record customary land transactions
whether there are oral or documentary.

The main sources of revenue to sustain the CLSs are the

revenue accruing to the customary authorities and the
District Assemblies and fees and charges for services
provided by the secretariats.
CUSTOMARY LAND MANAGEMENT

 Common Use Lands

Section 19 provides novel protection for
communally-held lands such as funeral grounds,
parks, children playgrounds, grazing lands,
nature reserves etc.
The law safeguards against the unlawful sale of the
lands.
PART TWO - LAND ADMINISTRATION AND LAND
MANAGEMENT
 Section 22 to 30-
There are brief provisions on land survey and valuation. The
main provisions on them will be in specific laws and LIs.
PART TWO - LAND ADMINISTRATION AND LAND
MANAGEMENT
TRANSFER OF INTERESTS AND RIGHTS IN LAND
Chapter 3 - (Sections 32-72)
 Section 33 - Person Qualified to Prepare
Conveyance
Only qualified legal practitioners are to prepare
conveyances.
 Section 35 - Conveyance for Transfer of land
Both transferor and transferee are to sign a conveyance.
The transferor shall sign the back of the site plan.
SPOUSAL LAND RIGHTS
 Section 38(3) and (4)-Parties to a Conveyance
Unless a contrary intention is stated, a conveyance to a
spouse in marriage is presumed to be for both spouses
whether or not the names of the spouses are in the
document.
The Act further provides for the consent of the spouses in
the disposition of such property (section 47).
In pursuance of article 22 of the Constitution, the Act
provides that property acquired for valuable
consideration by spouses during marriage is presumed
to be owned by the spouses as tenants in common,
unless a contrary intention is expressed.
SPOUSAL LAND RIGHTS
 Section 47 - Restrictions on Transfer of land by
spouse
For transactions where joint ownership is presumed, no
spouse shall transfer an interest in the land without the
written consent of the other spouse.
 These provisions mainly reflect decisions of the
Supreme Court including Boafo v Boafo [2005-2006]
SCGLR 705; Mensah v Mensah [2012] 1 SCGLR 391;
Quartson v Quartson [2012] SCGLR 1077; Arthur (No 1) v
Arthur (No 1) [2013-2014] 1 SCGLR 543 and Fynn v Fynn
& Anor [2013-2014] 1 SCGLR 727.
Transfer of Interests and Rights in Land
 Automatic Renewal of Lease
 Section 50(9) provides for automatic renewal of
lease for indigenes where the land has been
developed by the lessee for cash crop farming,
residential, commercial or industrial purposes.
In the case of a citizen who is not an indigene of
an area, subsection (11) provides for an implied
term for the renewal of the lease subject to terms
agreed by the parties.
There is no right of automatic renewal for non-
Ghanaians (subsection (18)).
Transfer of Interests and Rights in Land
 Usufructuary interest
Sub-Section 19 – The usufruct shall not alienate his land
without the consent of and the payment of adequate of
compensation to the allodial owner. This is to prohibit
indiscriminate disposal of lands by usufructuary interest
holders.
Sub-Section 20 - The allodial owner shall also not alienate
land held by the usufruct without the consent of and the
payment of adequate of compensation.
Where the land is required for development as a result of the
expansion of the town, the compensation payable to him shall
not be less than forty per cent of the plots or the market value of
the plots being disposed of.
LAND ADMINISTRATION AND LAND MANAGEMENT

 Section 62 – Grant of Consents

 Consent fees shall not be paid in respect of
assignment, subletting, mortgage, change use, renewal
of lease, surrender and any other transaction relating to
stool, skin, tendana, clan or family lands except for
administrative charges which are to be prescribed by
regulations in consultation with the Lands Commission
and the Administrator of Stool Lands.

 Consent shall not be required for vesting assents.

LAND ADMINISTRATION AND LAND MANAGEMENT

 Customary Obligations
 Section 69(3) provides that customary obligations paid
by a lessee shall be stated in the conveyance. This means
that for the sake of transparency, drink monies and
other customary fees paid by grantees of land should be
disclosed in the document.
 Re-Entry and Forfeiture
 The restrictions on re-entry and forfeiture have been
made applicable to land grants under customary law.
LAND ADMINISTRATION AND LAND
MANAGEMENT

 Fraudulent Concealment
 Fraudulent concealment in a conveyance of land attracts
damages and penalty under Section 72.
ELECTRONIC CONVEYANCING

 Electronic Conveyancing
 Sections 73 to 79 introduces for the first
time, electronic conveyancing to speed
up conveyancing and make it cheaper
and more efficient. They provide the
legal basis for the electronic creation,
transfer and registration of interests in
land.
PART TWO - LAND ADMINISTRATION AND LAND MANAGEMENT
 LAND RECORDING AND REGISTRATION
 Section 79 - 224
The Act provides for three systems for the recording and
registration of land and interest in land. These are:
a) Customary Land Secretariat recording
b) Title Registration and
c) Deeds Registration.
LAND TITLE REGISTRATION
 Title Registration
 Sections 83 to 205 deal with title registration. The sections
generally reflect the current state of the law.

 Section 98-Resolution of Land Disputes

 Abolishes the former Land Title Adjudication
Committees. They have now been replaced by resort to
Alternative Dispute Resolution for the settlement of
disputes.

 The section prohibits claimants from instituting action in

court in relation to matters concerning land registration
until claimants have exhausted settlement under the
Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798).
LAND TITLE REGISTRATION
 Prior Compilation of Registered Deeds
 Sections 99 provides for the compilation of instruments
registered under the deeds registration system. This will ensure
that the old registration is transferred to the new one where that
is possible.
LAND TITLE REGISTRATION
 Large Scale Land Disposition
Subsections (3) to (7) of section 102 regulate the disposition of
large tracts of stool, skin, clan and family lands. Such grants shall
receive the consent of the Regional Lands Commission before
registration.

Sub-Section 3 - the Land Registrar is prohibited from registering

large scale disposition land if the Regional Lands Commission
has not granted consent.

Subsection (4) defines a large-scale disposition in respect of land

for residential purpose as a disposition which exceeds four
hectares and for agricultural or industrial purposes as land not
exceeding twenty hectares.
LAND TITLE REGISTRATION
 Compulsory Registration
 Under section 105 the failure of a land owner to register his
interest within the time reserved for registration will result in the
land being registered in the name of the State in trust for the
owner.
 Where land is registered in the name of the Government in trust,
the government is prevented from transferring it to a third party.
 Section 134 deals with the power of the land Registrar to compel
registration of land.
 Registration in accordance with Planning Layouts
 Under section 117, registration of land has to comply with
planning layout approved for the affected area, except in the case
of registration of an allodial title or where there is no local plan.
 Registration of Judgments
 Section 179 provides for the registration of court judgments
relating to land. The judgment shall be accompanied by an
approved plan of the land authenticated by the judge or the
registrar of the court.
LAND TITLE REGISTRATION
 Registration of allodial interest
 Section 182 requires the prior registration of
whole land of an allodial owner before lesser
interests can be created out of it.
 There are a few exceptions to this
requirements
 Exemption from Stamp Duty
 To encourage allodial owners to register their
interest, Section 103(4) exempts instruments
relating to the first registration of stool, skin,
clan and family lands from the payment of
stamp duty.
LAND TITLE REGISTRATION
 Publication of Registered Titles And Deeds
 Section 204 (2)
 A list of registered titles and deeds are to be published monthly
in a bulletin approved by the Lands Commission and on the
website of the Commission.
 Section 110 The land register may be kept in electronic form.
DEEDS REGISTRATION
 Sections 206 to 232 deal with Deeds Registration.
 The provisions generally reflect the current law.
 New provision, section 207(2) prohibits the registration
of an instrument relating to land which does not
provide adequate description of the land, sufficient
reference to the date and particulars of any earlier
registered instrument in respect of the land, or does not
have attached an approved plan.
 The powers and functions of the Land Registrar and the
provisions of this Act on title registration shall with the
necessary modifications apply to deeds registration.
Section 206
DEEDS REGISTRATION
 New provisions introduced by this bill ensures that the
priority of applicants for registration are preserved from
the date of submission of their instruments for
registration. In fact the date of registration of an
instrument is the date of its submission.
 In view of this and to prevent speculative applications
for registration, all instruments presented for
registration shall be complete in all respects with all
necessary attachments like approved plans and
consents.
DEEDS REGISTRATION
 Search Reports to Include Pending Applications
 A search report shall provide information on registered
instruments as well as pending applications in
accordance with Regulations made under this Act.”
DEEDS REGISTRATION
 Rectification of the Records of the Lands
Commission
 Section 232 provides for rectification of records of the
Lands Commission regarding the plotting of an
instrument which contains a site plan where the
position or size of the land to which the site plan relates
is incorrect or where the plotting is as a result of a
mistake or where the interested persons have
consented.
 This is to correct wrong plottings within the Lands
Commission records which arose out of wrong surveys
in the past
COMPULSORY ACQUISITION OF LAND
 Section 233 to 267 deal with compulsory acquisition of land.
 Section 234 - provides for State acquisition of land by means of
purchase or gift.
 Section 235- restricts Ministries, Departments and Agencies that
granted Certificates of Allocation the right to create or transfer an
interest in the land.
COMPULSORY ACQUISITION OF LAND
COMPENSATION PAYMENT
 Section 238 - To ensure availability of funds for payment of
compensation, the public agency interested in the compulsory
acquisition of land shall pay the money intended for compensation
into an escrow account managed by the Lands Commission before
the acquisition commences.
 An exception is made for Ministries, Departments or Agencies
funded from the consolidated fund. In such cases, a cabinet
approval for the acquisition and a budgetary allocation of funds for
the acquisition is a pre-requisite.
Land compensation for the usufruct and customary tenant
 Compensation is apportioned in defined proportions between the
holder of the allodial title, a holder of a usufructuary interest and a
customary tenant. (Section 259)
 The recipient of the compensation shall give a written receipt of
the payment.
COMPULSORY ACQUISITION OF LAND
COMPENSATION ASSESSMENT
 Section 255-258 – Several factors have been provided for the
determination of the amount of compensation.
 The valuation process and methods applicable under Act 125, may
not be applicable under this Act.
COMPULSORY ACQUISITION OF LAND

 Expiration of Acquisition
 Acquisition process expires after two years if not
completed. The period for the acquisition may be
extended once and thereafter, if still uncompleted, the
land shall be returned to the original owner. Section 242
PUBLIC LANDS
 Section 228 – prohibits the acquisition of adverse title
against the State over public lands.

 To fight encroachments on public lands, members of

the public whose interest in or enjoyment of the public
land or land in proximity to the public land has been or
is likely to be adversely affected by the encroachment
may commence action in court to stop the
encroachment.
COMPULSORY ACQUISITION OF LAND
 Section 235 and 236-Imposes an obligation on the
Lands Commission to consult owners, occupiers,
traditional authorities and community leaders of lands
to be affected by the acquisition and to publish a report
of the consultation.
 Section 245-Requires the Lands Commission, where
there is no dispute, to pay compensation immediately it
is assessed and in any event not later than six months
after the assessment.
 Section 251-Provides for distribution of assessed
compensation to various identified interest holders in
different proportions.
 Sanctions have been provided against an officer of the
Lands Commission who overvalues or undervalues the
compensation payable.
LAND ADMINISTRATION AND LAND
MANAGEMENT
VESTING AND TEMPORARY OCCUPATION OF LAND
 Section 268 to 270 - provide for the management of vested
lands and de-vesting of the lands.
 Section 271 to 276 -provide for temporary occupation of land
where the land is needed for public welfare or in the interest
of the state. The temporary occupation is for a period of not
more than five years and is subject to renewal for a second
period of five years after which the land shall be returned to
the owner or be compulsorily acquired by the State.
PART THREE – MISCELLANEOUS
AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
OFFENCES
 Section 277 - Various offences have been provided to ensure transparency
and accountability. The Offences are in two categories, the first category
relates to those offences which can be found in the Act because references
to those offences will be found in the sections in which they occur. These
offences include unauthorized removal of boundary marks, unauthorized
registration of large scale acquisition of land and loss of document by
staff of the Lands Commission. The second category is the general
offences applicable to several sections and which have been grouped at
the end of the Act. These include falsification of records, fraudulent issue
of documents, fraudulent alteration of records and multiple sale of land.
 Section 278 contains provisions protecting public officers in the
performance of their functions under the Act.
MISCELLANEOUS AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Regulations, Repeals & Savings, Interpretation

 Section 279 - Provides for Regulations by Legislative
Instrument to be made by the Minister in consultation with
the Lands Commission or Office of the Administrator of
Stool Lands.

 Section 280-Interpretation section.

 Section 281-Repeals and Savings of relevant enactments have

been provided.
THANK U
OTHER MATTERS
 Accepting incomplete documents for processing
 How to effectively deal with pending applications.
 Testifying in court on behalf of the Commission
 Proving Government acquisitions in court.

45