Prime Minister Urges Jamaicans Without Land Titles to Register Properties

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has urged Jamaicans without property titles to register the lands they occupy.

He made the call while speaking during Tuesday’s (May 12) inception ceremony for the Land Administration Capacity Enhancement Project (LACEP), held at Jamaica House.

Dr. Holness noted that many Jamaicans alive today have, for decades, worked on, built homes, farmed, and raised families on land for which they cannot provide formal proof of ownership.

“That gap between possession and title is not a bureaucratic inconvenience only; it is a barrier to finance, to security, to inheritance, and to the formal economy,” he said.

The Prime Minister highlighted the Government’s efforts in recent years to address this issue through systematic land registration but noted that voluntary applications for titles have not kept pace.

“In fact, my estimate is that in the last five years, we would have registered more titles under the systematic registration, maybe three times as many titles… than under the ad-hoc voluntary system,” Dr. Holness stated.

He is urging Jamaicans without property titles to visit the National Land Agency (NLA) and register the properties they occupy.

The Prime Minister emphasised that effective land administration is a key pillar in securing Jamaica’s economic growth.

“We want to ensure that people who want to use the land for productive purposes can get access to use the land for productive purposes. We want to ensure that land, which is a natural asset, can also become a financial asset by acting as collateral for financing. We want to ensure that we can make proper decisions about the land… the environmental features [and] the geospatial features,” Dr. Holness said.

He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to accelerating the utilisation of all the country’s assets, including land.

“[However], before we can actually utilise the land fairly, transparently, and strategically, we need to know about the land. We need to have a register of it. We need to have all parcels of land titled,” Dr. Holness stated.

He explained that LACEP, implemented in partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), will strengthen the NLA’s capacity and expand land registration at scale.

“Once you start to have titles and you know about every square inch of land, then we can have a proper system of addresses… it becomes easier to sell and transfer land… we will have a better system of estimating the value of land… and your land market, which supports your housing, construction [and] agriculture, becomes more efficient,” Dr. Holness added.

In his remarks, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development with Responsibility for Land Titling and Settlements, Hon. Robert Montague, noted that Jamaica has approximately 900,000 parcels of land, of which about 500,000, or 55 percent, are titled.

He explained that the ad-hoc registration process is often hindered by a shortage of skilled technicians and professionals, pointing out that LACEP will help to address this challenge.