Property
Code foncier et domanial 2013 replacing the permis d'habiter with titled ownership
Loi n° 2013-01 created a unified land code and the Agence Nationale du Domaine et du Foncier. It aims to convert customary holdings and the colonial permis d'habiter into registered title, but conversion is incomplete, so unregistered customary tenure remains widespread in practice.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The ANDF administers registration; the Tribunal de première instance hears title disputes.
- Deadline — Confirmation of customary rights: application to the ANDF for a Titre Foncier
- Deadline — Pre-emption by the state on rural land: exercised within the statutory notice period
Governing law
- Loi n° 2013-01 du 14 août 2013 portant Code foncier et domanial
- Loi n° 2017-15 modifiant le Code foncier et domanial
- Décret n° 2015-010 portant organisation de l'ANDF
In practice
The 2013 Code's ambition is to make the Titre Foncier the only proof of ownership, extinguishing the layered colonial instruments. Because registration is expensive and slow relative to rural incomes, the intermediate instrument — the Attestation de Détention Coutumière — does most of the practical work, and disputes commonly turn on whether such an attestation was properly issued.