Land reform is fast approaching the shores of The Bahamas with Parliament having debated and approved the Land Adjudication Bill 2025 and the Registered Land Bill 2025 which will become law once signed by the Governor General. When finalized, this legislation will modernize and dramatically change the way parties presently conduct land transactions. Rather than passing title to a new party when a deed is signed, sealed and delivered (which is sometimes referred to as an “unregistered” system because title does not depend on registration), the new laws will create a “registered” system where title will only pass by registering the transaction at the soon-to-be-created Land Registration Department.
The new system promises to create a faster, more transparent, more certain and less expensive method of transacting land. However, the change will likely take several decades to implement, so there will be a long period where the old system and the new system will operate contemporaneously.
One reason for the delay is that any land falling under the new registered system must first be vetted by a land adjudication committee. The procedures for such adjudication are generally outlined in the new legislation but many details remain unknown. The industry eagerly awaits the rules, regulations and further explanation of how our government will implement the new system.
Following successful adjudication, the records for a parcel of land will primarily be located at the new Land Register and filed by the location of the parcel. This will replace the current laborious system of tracing title by the name of the current and past owners, obtaining original deeds, and confirming no defects on title for at least 30 years (or following the issuance of a Crown Grant or Certificate of Title from the Supreme Court).
Implementation will be expensive, time consuming and demanding of human resources, but it is an important step to modernizing land transactions in The Bahamas. Upon successful implementation, the new registered system should make it easier, faster and less expensive to buy, sell and mortgage land.
We applaud the Government for taking on this monumental task and we support the efforts of everyone involved in the Land Reform process. We believe that a registered title system will be transformational for Bahamians and the jurisdiction. However, we caution that this new system must include adequate checks and balances to create transparency, to prevent fraud and to build public trust and acceptance. The devil is in the details, and we look forward to seeing how these details unfold.
Andrew O’Brien | Partner, aobrien@gsolegal.com
26 July, 2025