Property
Registered Land Act with the Barbuda communal exception
Antigua operates a registered title system under the Registered Land Act, so the register is the source of title and a transfer takes effect on registration. Non-citizens require a non-citizen land holding licence. Barbuda is the exception: land there has been held communally under the Barbuda Land Act 2007, and whether freehold title can now be issued depends on the contested 2018 amendments.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Registered title in Antigua; communal tenure questions govern Barbuda
- Deadline — Non-citizen land holding licence: obtained before completion
- Deadline — Registration of a transfer: priority runs from registration
- Deadline — Stamp duty: paid on registration, at a higher rate for non-citizens
Governing law
- Registered Land Act
- Non-Citizens Land Holding Regulation Act
- Barbuda Land Act 2007 and the 2018 amendments
- Land Acquisition Act
In practice
The two islands must be advised as if they had different property regimes, because a purchaser in Antigua can rely on a conclusive register while a purchaser in Barbuda faces an unresolved question about whether the land was capable of being sold at all. That distinction is the single most important due diligence point in this jurisdiction and is frequently missed by overseas investors.