Property
About 87% customary land; only citizens hold perpetual estates
Roughly 87% of land is customary land outside the register. Registered land is held as a perpetual estate, which by law only Solomon Islanders may hold — foreigners are limited to fixed-term estates.
Key rules
- Deadline — Fixed-term estates are commonly granted for up to 75 years
- Deadline — Customary land acquisition follows the statutory process with appeal to the Customary Land Appeal Court
Governing law
- Land and Titles Act 1996 (s. 110)
- Land and Titles Act 1996 (s. 241 (customary land))
- Customary Land Records Act 1994
- Forest Resources and Timber Utilisation Act 1969
In practice
The perpetual estate is reserved to citizens, so a foreign investor or spouse can hold only a fixed-term estate — a rule that catches many buyers who assume they are purchasing freehold. Customary land is held by lineages under custom and is not registered; converting it into registered form requires a statutory acquisition process, and disputes over who holds the customary right go first to chiefs, then to Local Courts, with appeal to the Customary Land Appeal Court rather than through the ordinary civil hierarchy. Logging agreements executed without proper identification of the customary owners are a recurring source of litigation and cancelled licences.