Property
All land owned by the state, with DUAT use rights that cannot be sold
The Constitution and the Lei de Terras (Lei 19/97) provide that all land is the property of the state and cannot be sold, mortgaged or otherwise alienated. Private parties hold a DUAT — direito de uso e aproveitamento da terra — a use right acquired by state grant, by occupation in good faith for ten years, or by customary occupation. Buildings and improvements can be owned and transferred, and a DUAT transfer requires state authorisation.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Provincial and district land services grant DUATs; the Cadastro Nacional records them; the courts hear disputes.
- Deadline — DUAT by good-faith occupation: 10 years' occupation
- Deadline — Investment DUAT: provisional grant for up to 5 years pending implementation of the plan
Governing law
- Constitution arts 109-111 — land is state property and cannot be sold
- Lei de Terras (Lei 19/97) — DUAT; acquisition by customary occupation and by good-faith occupation
- Regulamento da Lei de TerrasDecreto 66/98
In practice
This is the most restrictive land regime covered in the atlas. Because land itself is inalienable, Mozambican real-estate finance is built on mortgaging the buildings and the DUAT's transferable value rather than the land, and customary occupation is a recognised original mode of acquiring a DUAT — meaning a community can hold a legally protected right without any document at all.