ACQUISITION OF LAND CERTIFICATE FOLLOWING ASSIGNMENT, DIVISION OR MERGER OF REGISTERED PROPERTIES IN CAMEROON

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. 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.

  1. ASSIGNMENTS

The assignment of property, with or without valuable consideration shall entail transfer of the initial certificate to the purchaser or assignee in line with Article 22 of Decree No. 76-165 of 27th April 1976 which sets out the conditions for obtaining land title in Cameroon.

Role of the Notary

The notary who draws up the deed of sale shall transmit to the head of the provincial Lands service in whose area the property is situate a file containing;

  1. A stamped application stating the details of the purchaser or assignee.
  2. The drawn up deed in accordance with Article 8 of the Ordinance No. 74-1 of 6th July 1974.
  3. A sketch or plan of the property in question duly countersigned by the Head of the Surveys service.
  4. A copy of the initial land certificate produced by the seller or assignor.

If the sale of land is cancelled, the land certificate issued to the purchaser shall be transferred back to the name of the original owner.

  • DISMEMBERMENT

This is a situation in which a series of sales, partitions, or assignments without consideration leads to the division of an initial land certificate in favor of several purchasers or assignees.

Each parcel extracted from the mainland title shall be demarcated by a sworn surveyor of the survey service or an approved surveyor who shall show this operation on the original plan. As a consequence, a separate certificate shall be issued for each parcel.

In the case of partial owners, it shall not be necessary to establish a new land certificate for that part which is not subject to a transfer transaction. The partition shall be mentioned in the mainland title of the initial owner whilst the owners of the partitioned part shall be handed subtitles.

Role of the Notary

The notary who draws up the deed of sale shall transmit to the head of the provincial Lands service in whose area the property is situated a file containing the;

  1. A stamped application stating the details of the purchaser or assignee.
  2. The drawn-up deed is in accordance with Article 8 of Ordinance No. 74-1 of 6th July 1974.
  3. A sketch or plan of the property in question duly countersigned by the Head of the Surveys service.
  4. A copy of the initial land certificate produced by the seller or assignor.

N/B If the issue of the land certificate follows partition, the joint owners shall produce the deed of partition executed by a notary if the partition was by private mutual agreement, or the final judgment if the partition was by court order.

  • MERGER

In the event of a merger of adjoining registered properties, the owner may have a new land certificate established containing all the entries on the former certificates.

The latter shall be obligatorily canceled by the Land Conservator. Notice of such cancellation shall appear in the Land Notice Bulletin.

Scroll to Top