Property
Roman-Dutch land law, with foreign freehold effectively closed
Land law is Roman-Dutch in substance, with notarially executed deeds registered under the Registration of Documents Ordinance. Foreign nationals and foreign-controlled companies cannot acquire freehold title; the 2014 prohibition channels them into leases of up to 99 years instead. Title registration under the Bim Saviya programme is being rolled out gradually alongside the older deeds system.
Governing law
- Land (Restrictions on Alienation) Act, No. 38 of 2014 — Foreign freehold prohibition and the 99-year lease route.
- Registration of Documents Ordinance, No. 23 of 1927 — Deeds registration.
In practice
Conveyances must be executed before a notary public to be valid. Foreign persons and companies with foreign shareholding above the threshold are barred from freehold; leases up to 99 years are permitted. Prescriptive title can be acquired by ten years' adverse possession under the Prescription Ordinance. Condominium units are governed by the Apartment Ownership Law. Deeds registration is not title registration — a chain-of-title search back at least 30 years is standard practice. Whether a parcel has been converted to Bim Saviya title changes the search entirely, so check its status first.