Property
Torrens title registration under the Registration of Titles Act
Jamaica operates a Torrens system: the register is the title, and a registered proprietor takes free of unregistered interests apart from limited exceptions such as short leases and fraud. The Registration of Titles Act governs transfer, mortgage and caveat, and the National Land Agency maintains the register. Older land held under common-law conveyancing still exists and must be brought onto the register before it can be dealt with in the ordinary way.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National register administered by the National Land Agency
- Deadline — Transfer tax and stamp duty: paid before the instrument can be registered
- Deadline — Caveat: lapses unless proceedings are commenced within the period stated in the notice
Governing law
- Registration of Titles Act
- Land Acquisition Act
- Restrictive Covenants (Discharge and Modification) Act 1960
- Stamp Duty Act
In practice
The practical work in a Jamaican conveyance is confirming that the vendor is the registered proprietor and that no caveat or unsatisfied mortgage sits on the title, because the register is conclusive. Where land is still unregistered, the first registration process requires proof of a chain of title and is materially slower, which is why development land is often registered well before it is sold.