In Chad, the regularization of land plots involves a lengthy process that requires the involvement of multiple services and authorities. According to Ahmat Mahamat Makaïla, Director of the Land Registry at the Ministry of Territorial Planning, Urban Planning, and Housing, the process often concerns land acquired from customary owners or village chiefs. The process includes several official steps, starting with a request from the user, its registration, and verification of its completeness.
The process involves the designation of a technician to physically identify the plot, confirmation from traditional authorities, and the orientation of the file towards the concerned services and its study. The file then follows a circuit of opinions and validations, including the head of the studies and land registry service, the land registry director, the General Directorate of Land Registry and Topography, and the one-stop shop. After payment and liquidation of fees, the plot plan is produced, controlled, and certified.
The file is then archived digitally and transmitted to the Directorate of Domains. The process continues with the visa of the Director of Domains on the request for a land cession and its transmission to the Public Works department. Verification of the public works and publication of the land by the municipality follow. After publication, the elements communicated mention a return to the public works for the certificate of no appeal and no opposition, then to the Directorate of Domains to settle the file and prepare the project of mutual agreement.
Several documents are required to accompany this procedure, including the application form, the identification and information sheet on the plot, the order of receipt, the liquidation sheet, and the payment receipt. The list and precise titles may depend on the administrative circuit applied, and it is advisable to have them confirmed with the competent service before submitting the file. This process explains why a simple attestation or sales document should not be confused with a land title.
The Chadian law No. 24 of July 22, 1967, describes the registration as the procedure for establishing and recording the title of ownership. It also specifies that unregistered lands are presumed vacant and without an owner, unless proof to the contrary is provided, particularly by the official observation of development. Disputes can arise from multiple sales of the same plot, double assignments, unsettled successions, or disagreements on boundaries and the origin of rights.
The pressure of demographic growth, competition for resources, and land grabbing are added to these difficulties. The joint report of the Chadian government and the United Nations system ranks access to land and land grabbing among the causes of conflicts related to natural resources. According to Ahmat Mahamat Makaïla, the Director of the Land Registry, it is recommended to carry out the regularization with the involvement of local authorities and to avoid any purchase without prior verification.
Before paying, the buyer should verify the identity of the seller and the origin of their rights, control the plot, its boundaries, and its situation in the relevant documents or administrative bases. The buyer should also ask if the land is already the subject of an assignment, sale, disputed succession, or litigation, and keep the deeds, receipts, plans, payment references, and exchanges with the services. The development of the land is mentioned in the transmitted advice, but it does not guarantee the absence of litigation or the obtaining of a title.
Key points
- The process of regularization aims to verify the origin of rights, the identity of the plot, and possible disputes before the file continues its path towards registration.
