Property
Land Act 2016 recognising customary estates and abolishing freehold conversion
The Land Act 16 of 2016 and the Customary Land Act 19 of 2016 restructured tenure, creating the registrable customary estate administered by Land Committees and Traditional Land Management Areas. Public land, private land and customary land are the three categories, and the Acts provided for the conversion of remaining freehold to leasehold.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Land Committees administer customary estates; the Land Registry records private land; Land Tribunals hear disputes.
Governing law
- Land Act 16 of 2016
- Customary Land Act 19 of 2016 — customary estates; Land Committees
- Registered Land ActCap 58:01
In practice
The 2016 reform's central innovation is the customary estate: a registrable, inheritable and mortgageable interest held under customary law, which was intended to bring the majority of Malawian land into a system where it can secure credit without extinguishing customary administration.