Property
Lei da Terra 1998 vesting land in the state with customary use rights
Lei n° 5/98 vests all land in the state and grants private use rights (direito de uso privativo) rather than ownership. Customary tenure is recognised for rural communities, and concessions for cashew and mineral development are granted over community land.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Comissões de Terra at regional level administer grants; Tribunais Regionais hear disputes.
- Deadline — Application for direito de uso privativo: to the land commission
- Deadline — Concession duration: fixed by the grant instrument, renewable
Governing law
- Lei n° 5/98 da Terra
- Decreto sobre concessões de uso privativo
In practice
Because the 1998 Land Act converts all holdings into use rights held from the state, there is no freehold to sell, and security of tenure depends on the administrative concession. The Act's recognition of customary tenure through community land commissions was progressive in design, but the commissions were never fully established across the country, leaving most rural tenure undocumented.