• Establishment of land certificates,
• Miscellaneous entries in the land register,
• Issue of statements of entries in the land register of miscellaneous certificates at the request of corporate bodies,
• Topographical, top metric, and surveying work.

The rate of the fees shall be fixed by the Finance law.

Any person who wishes to purchase state land by private treaty must make a written application through a competent prefect to the Minister in charge of Lands with the supporting documents required by law.

If the applicant is a company, a copy of the memorandum and articles of association or constitution or a court registry certificate of its legal existence.

If the application is refused, the applicant may not occupy the land applied for. In the case of unlawful occupation, and after a formal notice has remained after 2 months, the perfect shall be empowered to destroy at the expense of the person responsible, all buildings or other constructions erected on state land. He may if necessary call in law and order enforcement officials for support.

If the application is accepted, the deed of sale by private treaty shall be drawn up between the state and the purchaser and it shall be subject to full payment of the sale price.

When approved by the Minister, the deed of sale shall be used to transfer the land certificate in the name of the state of Cameroon to the buyer.

The land certificate so issued shall contain an apparent clause that the property and the improvements made shall not be transferable until it has been developed as stipulated by the Ministerial approval order.

Any transfers made without prior authorization and in violation of the said clause shall be null and void and cannot be opposed by third parties or the government.

Sale by auction is carried out by a commission chaired by the prefect of the locality where the property is situated. The commission shall be composed of;

• The divisional official responsible for Lands who shall double as the secretary,
• The land revenue collector, and
• The official is responsible for surveys.

A public notice shall announce the date of the auction, the situation, nature, area, and the reserve price for the property, together with any special conditions attaching to the sale such as the investment of any expenses incurred for upkeep, etc., and the nature of the investment required.

The notice shall be broadcast, published in the press, and posted at the Department of lands and in the Chief town of the division concerned. The sale may not take place earlier than thirty days after the day the notice was posted. The plan of the property and the day the articles and conditions governing it shall be available for inspection in the land’s offices.

Bids may be accepted only from persons who have declared their intention to bid during the 30 days period and have submitted the prescribed information required by law alongside a receipt from the Land revenue collector’s office for the payment of a bond equal to half the reserve price.

The property will be adjudicated without any guarantee to the highest bidder and the record of the sale shall be made out immediately in five copies for each property sold, and signed by all the members of the commission. The record must contain all the special clauses found in the notice of sale by auction.

The sale shall not be final until approved by the order of the Minister in charge of Property, surveys, and land in Cameroon.

When approved by the Minister, the record of sale shall be used to transfer the land certificate in the name of the state of Cameroon to the buyer.

The land certificate so issued shall contain an apparent clause that the property and the improvements made shall not be transferable until it has been developed as stipulated by the Ministerial approval order.

Any transfers made without prior authorization and in violation of the said clause shall be null and void and cannot be opposed by third parties or the government.

Death of the Purchaser

Should the purchaser die before the property has been developed, his successors shall remain bound by the obligation to develop. If they default, the Minister shall declare the cancellation of the sale rendering the land certificate null and void and entailing repayment of the sum disbursed for the purchase of the land.

Notice of the cancellation shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Subject to the obligation to obtain a town planning certificate, the formalities for creating layouts shall not apply in the case of the division of a parcel of state or private land into less than four plots to be used for housing purposes, and the dimension of these lots must be such that they cannot be subject to any further subdivision.

The file relating to the layout shall be compiled in four copies and be lodged at the town hall in exchange for an acknowledgment receipt. Each copy of the file shall comprise;

1. An application whose original shall be stamped and signed by the owner or the legally authorized agent,
2. An ownership certificate,
3. A site plan drawn to a scale of 1/5000 or 1/10 000 extracted from the master town plan if necessary indicating the position of the land,
4. The draft layout is drawn on the basis of a scale of 1/500 or 1/1000 endorsed by the Survey Service and comprising of some specified information as required by law.
5. A work program indicating the specification of the various structures to be built and where necessary the conditions for their execution in stages.
6. Regulations laying down the obligations and easement of general interest imposed in the layout with regard in particular to the specifications and the nature of the building to be erected, the management of the property, tree planting, and the fences,
7. Clauses and conditions govern the relations between the developer and the owner.
8. If need be, the rules and regulations of the association formed by the purchasers of plots for the management and maintenance of the roads, open spaces, and structures of common interest are not classified in the property of the council.

As per Article 2 and 24 of the Ordinance, a land title is unassailable, inviolable and definitive. This same act shall apply to documents certifying other real property rights. When the document is recorded in a special register called a Land Register, a real property right shall be deemed registered and may be opposed to third parties.

Rights of Applicants for a Land Title in Cameroon

A person whose rights have been encroached upon in consequence of registration shall have no claim on the property in the sole event of fraud, he shall have a personal action for damages against the perpetrator thereof.

The action shall be brought before the civil court of the area where the property is situated.

In the event of an error in government services, in particular, an irregularity in the course of the procedure for obtaining a land certificate in Cameroon, the Minister in charge of lands may on inspection of the authenticated deeds submitted directly that the irregularly issued land title be withdrawn.

An appeal may be brought against the decision of the Minister before the appropriate Administrative court.

Withdrawal of land certificates issued shall entail the transfer without charge of these certificates to the initial owner if the property was registered. The property shall revert to its exact condition prior to the issue of the certificate if the property was not registered.

Nullity of a Land Title in Cameroon

A land title is null and void in the following cases;

• When several land titles are issued on the same land. In such a case the titles will all be declared null and void and the procedure for re-examination will be engaged in view to determine the legitimate owner. A new land title is then established for the benefit of the legitimate owner.
• When the land title is issued arbitrarily without following any procedure or obtained by a procedure other than that provided for this purpose.
• When the land title is established in whole or part on a plot of the private domain of the state, a public authority, or a public body in violation of the regulations.

The nullity of the land title in line with the above circumstances is declared by an order of the Minister in charge of land affairs, subject to appeal before the competent administrative court.

The private property of the state (state land) in Cameroon which has not been allocated or which allocation has been withdrawn can be allotted leasehold to natural persons and corporate bodies upon request.

The leasehold of the private property of the state can take the form of an ordinary lease or a long lease.

Any person wishing to lease private property of the state shall make an application to the Minister in Charge of Property, Surveys, and Land through the prefect of the division where the property is situated.

The application should include;

• A duly stamped request,
• A certified true copy of the applicant’s identity card,
• In the case of a company, a copy of the memorandum and articles of association,
• A Power of attorney if the application is acting through an agent etc.

Authorization to conclude the lease agreement shall be given by order of the minister in charge of property, surveys, and land.

Temporary rights shall be granted for development projects in line with the economic, social or cultural policies of Cameroon. The duration for temporary grants may not exceed five (5) years and in exceptional cases it may be extended on reasoned application by the grantee.

Application for Unexploited or Unoccupied National Land in Cameroon

All natural and corporate bodies wishing to develop unoccupied or unexploited national land must submit an application in triplicate in the prescribed forms which shall contain the details of the applicant.

As regards the case of a corporate body, the registration documents will be used in the application process. If the corporate body is acting through an agent, a Power of Attorney must accompany the application.

A development program with clear objectives and an outline of the stages of implementation must accompany the application.

Allocation of Temporary Grants

Grants of less than fifty hectares are allocated by order of the Minister in Charge of Property, survey, and Lands, those of more than fifty hectares are allocated by presidential decree. The rights of both the state and the grantee shall be set out in special clauses and conditions.

Termination of Temporary Grants

Temporary grants to unoccupied or unexploited national lands shall terminate in the following circumstances;

• On the expiry of the period stipulated in the decree,
• In the event of non-fulfillment of the grantee’s obligations,
• In the event of voluntary relinquishment,
• In the event of the transfer of property without the consent of the grantor,
• In the event of the grantee’s insolvency or winding up in the case of a company,
• In the event of an absolute grant.

The pronouncement of the termination of the temporary grant shall be made by the Minister in Charge of Property, survey, and lands or by presidential decree.

Absolute Grant and Long Lease

On the expiry of the period of the temporary grant, the consultative board shall assess the development of the land and draw up a report specifying the number of investments made. If the development project is completed before the expiry of the temporary grant, the grantee may request the board to proceed with the assessment.

The report will be transmitted to the prefect who according to the circumstances may propose the following;

1. Extension of the period of the temporary grant,
2. Absolute grant,
3. Forfeiture of rights,
4. Grant of a long lease.

The prefect shall consider the number of investments made and may not propose absolute grants if the development has not been done in conformity with the conditions laid down by the deed of grant and any additional clauses.

Partial Development

In the event of partial development of the land granted, the prefect may propose an absolute grant on part or all of the land.

However, when it concerns foreigners who have developed national lands, the prefect may only propose a long lease. Unless renewed, the lease shall be terminated on the expiry of the initial period. It may be renewed by order of the Minister in Charge of Property, Surveys, and Land. An application for renewal must be formulated six months before the expiry of the lease. The state may require further investment as a condition for renewal.

The head of the Land services may on his own responsibility, automatically rectify any irregularities attributable to himself or to one of his predecessors, in the documents used for establishing a certificate or any subsequent entries.

Rectification shall be authorized by decree where they infringe on the rights of third parties. The decree shall stipulate if need be the terms and conditions for safeguarding the rights of third parties.

The original entries shall remain intact. All relevant land registered entries made in accordance with the provisions of the present decree shall be entered, erased, restricted, or rectified by the head of the service of the provincial land by means of summary annotations on the land certificate and duplicates. Such annotations shall be signed and dated.

Each time an amendment is made to the land certificate, it shall be made simultaneously on the duplicate issued to the owner. Where a summons to the owner to produce his duplicate has remained without effect, the owner shall forfeit his rights, which shall be restored to him only after compliance with the required formalities. During such forfeiture, no parceling out or transfer may be effected in favor of third parties, where applicable, the latter may bring an action for damages against the owner, Plans shall be amended accordingly.

• The endorsement of the Minister in Charge of State Property, Surveys, and Land Tenure concerns private individuals,
• The endorsement of the Minister in Charge of Foreign Affairs and Minister in charge of State Property, Surveys, and Land Tenure concerns the diplomatic and consular missions and international organizations.

Provided that the acquisition of landed property by diplomatic and consular missions accredited to Cameroon shall be authorized only on a reciprocal basis. The total area of land to be ceded shall not exceed 10000 square meters for each mission save as otherwise decided by the government.

In the event of resale, the state shall give a preemptive right of purchase over the property taking into account the initial price, developments carried out, and amortization. Deeds drawn up for this purpose shall be null and void unless they are submitted for prior approval to the Minister in Charge of State property, Survey, and Land Tenure.

1. PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AT THE LEVEL OF THE NOTARY PUBLIC

Land transactions in Cameroon are usually engaged with the office of the notary public in Cameroon. The notary public is the recognized official by law to draw up deeds on parcels of lands and properties in Cameroon. Whilst deeds are not titles in themselves, they are instruments of the transfer of titles. As such, the notary public has a duty to ensure that he/she has engaged in the proper due diligence exercise before the deed is drawn up. Failure to do so, the notary public in Cameroon will be held liable for any disputes which may occur on the property on grounds of professional negligence. That said, the various precautionary steps to be engaged by a notary public are as follows;

• Ensure the seller of the property is the owner of the property or if not the owner, has the mandate to represent the owner for the sale transaction.
• Ensure that the property is in existence.
• Verify that the specification of the property vis-a-vis the sale is the same.
• Verify that no encumbrance exists on the property.
• Verify that the property is subject to personal ownership or family ownership.
• Verify that the parties to the transaction are willing to engage.
• Verify that there is no litigation on the property or boundary matters affecting the property.
• Verify that the neighbors are known.
• Confirm the credibility of the documents of ownership through;
• If a community land, visit the chief of that community for confirmation of the Attestation of Ownership.
• If the property has a registered site plan, visit the lands and survey bureau to ensure that the site plan is recognized and is established by a known sworn surveyor.
• If a land certificate is, visit the Land registration office to confirm the authenticity of the land certificate and also ensure there is no encumbrance on the land certificate.
• PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AT THE LEVEL OF THE ISSUE OF LAND CERTIFICATE

The land conservator shall ensure that the plans accompanying the deeds must be confirmed by the Survey Service which shall ascertain that they conform in all respects to the initial configuration of the property concerned and that there is no encroachment on the property.

Before converting deeds into land certificates, the land conservator shall further be responsible to verify documents lodged and;

• Verify the identity and capacity of the parties
• Verify the availability of the property.