National lands in Cameroon are lands which as of the date of which the 1974 Ordinance governing land tenure in Cameroon came into force, were not classified into the public or private property of the state and or the public bodies. The acquisition of land certificates for occupied or exploited national lands in Cameroon is subject to a specific procedure. A land certificate as per Decree No. 76-165 of 27th April 1976 which sets out the conditions for obtaining land title in Cameroon, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 2005/481 of 16 December 2005 is defined as the official certification of ownership on land. As per Articles 2 and 24 of the Ordinance, a land title is unassailable, inviolable, and definitive.
APPLICABLE LAWS GOVERNING THE ISSUANCE OF A LAND TITLE IN CAMEROON
The laws governing the issuance of a land certificate in Cameroon are Decree N. 76 – 165 of 27th April 1976 which sets out the conditions to obtain land certificates in Cameroon. The law established the procedure to obtain land certificates over National lands in Cameroon and the conditions for the conversion of existing deeds on land into land certificates in Cameroon. This law has been amended and supplemented by Decree No. 2005/481 of 16th December 2005.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A LAND CERTIFICATE IN CAMEROON
According to Article 9 of Decree No. 76-165 of 27th April 1976 governing the conditions to obtain land certificates in Cameroon, the following persons are eligible to apply for land certificates over national lands which they occupy;
- Customary communities, members thereof, or any other person of Cameroonian nationality, on condition that the occupancy or the exploitation predates 5th August 1974. The date of publication of Ordinance No. 74-1 of 6th July 1974 to establish rules governing land tenure;
- Persons who have forfeited their rights as a result of the application of Articles 4, 5, and 6 of Ordinance No. 74-1 of 6th July 1974.
WHO IS NOT ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A LAND CERTIFICATE IN CAMEROON
According to Article 10 of Decree No. 76-165 of 27th April 1976 governing the conditions to obtain land certificates in Cameroon, the trustees of inheritance may not apply or obtain a land certificates for its properties in their own name.
INFORMATION REQUIRED TO APPLY FOR A LAND CERTIFICATE IN CAMEROON
The information required from persons eligible to apply for a land title in Cameroon is as follows;
- The full names of the applicant
- Parentage
- Domicile
- Profession
- Form of marriage
- Nationality
- Name in which the property is to be registered
- A description of the property
COMPOSITION OF THE FILE TO APPLY FOR A LAND CERTIFICATE IN CAMEROON
In line with Article 11 of Decree No. 76-165 of 27th April 1976 governing the conditions to obtain land certificates in Cameroon as amended with Decree No. 2005/481 of 16th December 2005 is to the effect that a person eligible to apply for a land certificate in Cameroon shall compile a file as follows;
- An application in Quadruplicate, the original of which shall be stamped,
- A description of the property,
- Applications must be signed to cover one parcel of the property only.
- If a road or a watercourse crosses the land, the number of applications for the property shall be equal to the number of separate parcels.
N/B Applications concerning lands that are entirely unoccupied or unexploited shall be inadmissible under this procedure. Such applications shall be in accordance with the procedure for grants.
Applications for lands occupied or exploited after the 5th of August 1974 shall also follow the procedure for grants unless it is established by the Land Consultative Board that the development was preceded by a non-convincing occupancy or exploitation carried out before 5th August 1974.
SUBMISSION OF THE APPLICATION FILE (TIME FRAMES)
The file shall be lodged with the District Head or the Sub-Divisional Officer of the area where the property is situate.
As soon as the file has been received and within 72 hours following the Divisional Officer and District Head shall deliver without any prior formality in the field a receipt to the address indicated on it and shall transmit the file within 8 days to the Divisional Delegation of Land Tenure.
Upon receipt of the file by the Divisional Delegate of Land Tenure, the latter shall within 15 days from receipt of the file ask the Head of the Divisional Land Tenure Service to publish a summary of the application, posting it at the offices of the Sub-Division, the District, the City Hall or the place of the village concerned.
On the proposal of the Head of the Divisional land Tenure Services. The competent Divisional Officer or District Head, Chair Person of the Land Consultative Board shall issue a decision fixing the date for the establishment of occupancy or exploitation.
Where there are many applications, the Head of the Divisional Land Tenure Service shall publish every month, upon the decision of the Sub-Divisional Officer or the District Head concerned a schedule of the Land Consultative Board Activities.
DUTIES OF THE LAND CONSULTATIVE BOARD
According to Article 16 of Ordinance No. 74/1 of 6th July 1974 to establish land tenure in Cameroon, only the Land Consultative Board is competent to assess the occupancy or exploitation of national land of the first category in view of obtaining a land certificate in Cameroon.
Where the property to be registered concerns many administrative units, the Land Consultative Board concerned shall meet jointly, when convened by the one who has the file.
In the case of effective occupancy or exploitation, the Board shall immediately have the property demarcated by a sworn surveyor of the Surveys Services in the presence of neighbors to the land. Demarcation costs shall be met by the applicant.
Where all the members of the Land Consultative Board cannot be present for the demarcation process, the chairperson of the Board shall appoint an ad hoc committee that shall monitor the demarcation works to completion. The village chief and a local notable must be members of the committee.
Any demarcation carried out by a lone surveyor shall be null.
AFTER THE DEMARCATION OF THE LAND BY A SWORN SURVEYOR AND COMMITTEE
On completion of the demarcation exercise, a plan and detailed report shall be drawn up by the surveyor.
The plan shall be signed by the surveyor and the report shall be signed by the surveyor, the chairperson of the land consultative Board, the Head of the Divisional Land Tenure Service, the Village Chief, and the Neighbors.
The file alongside the plan and report shall be transmitted in 30 days by the Divisional Delegate of Land Tenure to the Provincial Delegate of Land Tenure.
The application shall be inscribed in the Provincial land certificate follow-up register which shall be assigned a number and counter-signed if approved by the Head of the Provincial Land Tenure Service.
PUBLICATION OF NOTICE
The Head of the Provincial Land Tenure service shall draw up a notice of final demarcation which shall be published in the Land Notice Bulletin.
The file shall then be transmitted to the Land Registrar for further proceedings if it has been approved, or the Divisional Delegate of Land Tenure for corrections if it has not been approved.
The conditions for publishing and running the notice Bulletin shall be determined by a decree of the Prime Minister.
AVENUES OPEN TO INTERESTED THIRD PARTIES
From the day the application to acquire a land certificate is lodged before the District or Sub-Divisional Office until the expiry of 30 days from the day of publication in the Land Notice Bulletin of the notice of final demarcation, any interested party may;
- Intervene with an objection only if there is cause for a dispute concerning the person responsible for the development of the scope thereof or,
- Intervene with an application for registration, in the event of the claim being based on the existence of the real right or of an encumbrance to be entered in the certificate under preparation.
These applications shall be submitted to the Land Consultative Board for examination on the date of inspection.
Objections of application for registration that are not examined on the day of assessment of occupation or subsequently thereafter shall be transmitted to the Land Conservator who shall enter them in a special register in chronological order of arrival.
Where the objections and applications for registration have not been withdrawn before the expiry of the 30-day period of notification, they shall be submitted to the competent government authority upon recommendation of the Land Consultative Board.
The Governor shall on the proposal of the Head of the Provincial Land Tenure Service pronounce a decision. This decision may be appealed before the Minister in charge of Land Tenure.
CASE OF NO OPPOSITION OR OBJECTION TO THE APPLICATION
Where there is no objection, no opposition, no application for registration, or no withdrawal of opposition, the land Conservator shall enter the property in the land register and a land certificate will be established.
INFORMATION INSCRIBED IN A LAND CERTIFICATE BY THE LAND CONSERVATOR
The land certificate must contain the following information;
- The description of the property with details of its components, contents, situation, boundaries, and adjacent area details of the owner’s civil status.
- The existing real rights on the property and encumbrances attached to it.
- A serial number and specific name.
- The situation plan on the property is duly signed by a sworn Surveyor and countersigned by the Head of the Divisional Surveys Service in whose area the property is situated.
DUTY OF A NOTARY PUBLIC
A notary public is the authorized legal person to draw up a sales deed. He shall therefore address to the Land Conservator of the area where the property is situated a file containing;
- A stamped application stating the details of the Purchaser or assignee,
- A plan of the property duly signed by the Head of the Divisional Survey Service of the area,
- The deed was drawn up by the Notary in accordance with Article 8 of the Ordinance,
- A copy of the initial land certificate produced by the seller or assignor.
OMISSIONS AND ERRORS IN THE LAND CERTIFICATE
Where omissions and errors have been made on the land certificate or in the entries, the parties concerned may apply for their rectification.
The land conservator may on his own responsibility automatically rectify any errors attributable to himself or to one of his predecessors in the documents used for establishing the certificate or in subsequent entries.
Rectifications shall be authorized by the decree of the Prime Minister where they infringe on the rights of third parties.
LOSS OF LAND CERTIFICATE
In the event of loss of the duplicate of a land certificate, the Land Conservator may issue a new one only upon presentation of a court order issued to the owner at his request by the President of the Civil Court in whose area the property is situated.