The Government is one step closer to introducing major reforms for the protection of rights of ownership of land throughout the country.
The Hon. Chester Cooper, as Acting Prime Minister, tabled the Land Adjudication Bill 2025, and the Land Registration Bill 2025, in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
“We are one step closer to introducing major land reforms to The Bahamas. This has been a long time in the making,” said the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation.
He pointed out that from the 1960s Bahamians have been crying out for land reform. That was when the first White Paper on reforms was produced. Many people have given up on the fight for their land because they lack the funds to win the case in court.
“For far too many years, we have allowed this issue to linger as properties throughout our nation have existed without clear titles, leading to disputes, making businesses hesitant to expand and investors reluctant to build on land without clear titles.
“It’s no secret that those with deep pockets supported by clever attorneys have figured out ways to influence outcomes in their favour by taking advantage of the broken, chaotic system.
“We are putting an end to this great injustice,” he said.
The Land Adjudication Bill 2025 will introduce an adjudication process to officially determine ownership of disputed land. A qualified Adjudicator supported by assessors, demarcators, and records officers, will visit communities, mark boundaries, hear claims, examine evidence, and resolve disputes through a fair Land Tribunal process.
This will fully determine ownership claims and allow for the land to be properly registered with clarity.
The registration of land will be facilitated by the Registered Land Act 2025, which establishes a modern Land Registry where every parcel of land gets a unique identification number. Owners will then be issued certificates representing definitive proof of ownership.
Land Adjudicators will have officially clarified ownership rights once and for all, as well as Land Tribunals — hearing disputes and making fair decisions based on the facts.
“We will bring clarity to the registration of land, creating one official record that is set in stone as we move from a deed-based system to a modern, title-based system,” Cooper told Parliament.
This means no more overlapping claims; no more uncertainty of ownership that lasts for years; and no more landowners stuck in limbo unable to sell, transfer, or get a mortgage because of disputed land.
Furthermore, mortgages and property sales will be processed faster. Developments will move forward with certainty. Parents will confidently pass land on to their children. And inheritance disputes can finally be resolved fairly.
“This reform is a mandatory step in the direction of fairness and justice. The longer we delay, the more people are harmed by the injustices of our broken system.
“We must now expedite this process,” Cooper said.
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