For decades, a significant number of Guyanese have migrated to other lands, carved a new life for themselves and continue to own property in the country. But property for them is more than possession, it represents a continuous link of what they have left behind and what is possible.
What is possible is here today. The discovery of oil in 2015 has brought Guyana into sharp focus on the world stage. Global attention and investments are pouring in as everyone expects great fortunes to be made. The first acute impact of this hyper activity is a property market that is already severely under supplied, exacerbated by increasing demand, which has pushed values upward exponentially.
With this steep demand, a number of cracks and challenges in the system has been laid bare. The recent headline is the case of Marlene Todd who bought property, only to discover the person who sold it to her, Ann Jennifer Jeboo, forged her signature as power of attorney and actually sold land that belonged to Allan Price. The High Court ruled in favour of Todd because she had no knowledge of the fraud.
Fraudulent property sales is a double edged sword where both the purchaser and the legitimate seller can find themselves in a legal battle. At least for now, it is clear the onus is on the buyer to determine the property they purchase is legitimate. It also begs the question, what measures, if any, are in place to prevent fraudulent activities and who is responsible for its oversight.
“Prescriptive Title” is where a person has been in possession of a property for a period of twelve years without any interruption for the paper owner, can file to become the owner of the property. Next of kin, extended family, friends and whomever the owner has left in charge can file for ownership often successfully.
Inheritance is also an interesting situation. Expats often have a rude awakening when attempting to claim what they consider is rightfully theirs. They discover other family members who reside on the property also file for ownership by virtue of the fact that they have lived on the said property usually for decades.
All is is happening in a country where the proper storage of documentation is a somewhat fragile endeavour. Guyana has been plagued by a series of unfortunate incidents over the years. Between the late 1990s to today the Government of Guyana has had at least 25 of its buildings destroyed; buildings where property owners’ paper records are housed and leaving it vulnerable to destruction. This list includes The Ministry of Public Works and Communications accounts department, The Ministry of Finance, The Central Tender Board, Ministry of Housing and Water (hundreds of transports, plans and drawings destroyed), The central Housing and Planning Authority to list but a few. Housed in these buildings are records forever gone.
To compound the issue Guyana has two legal codes working side by side. The Civil Code and the Common Law introduced by the British. The country also has a dual register system of property rights The Deeds Registry and the Land Registry that operate in separate jurisdictions. The mismatched legal framework is the backbone of a perplexing system weighed down under overlapping rules and and complex regulations.
One thing is certain, the status quo cannot continue and the current government knows they have a daunting task ahead of remedying this crisis. They recognize the application process is tedious and frustrating, insufficient lands to develop, expensive construction materials and inadequate access to financing. But it will take time, considerable time before real change occurs.
In the meantime, the question still stands : Who owns your property?
There are organizations positioning themselves to take the lead to work within the system to optimize the outcome for property owners. With implementation of technology and an ever increasing global village where information is readily accessible, Guyanese both at home and abroad are much sophisticated in their understanding of the property market.
As such, companies such as Re/Guyana are using technology and online platforms to take a streamlined step by step common sense approach to resolve the range of existing issues. It has forged ahead with its portfolio because of its ability to leverage its connections with the legal system, the government and private entities in Guyana.
Simply put, it has boots on the ground and understands what needs to be done.
The 18th century botanist, Thomas Drummond, encapsulated it well when he stated “Property has its duties as well as its rights” . Everyone seems to know what their rights are but what of duty. Do they know and understand what questions must be asked, what actions need to be taken, what proof do they have, to ensure they own their property.
RE/Guyana is a property services company dedicated to making it easier and safer to administer, acquire, divest and develop real estate assets in Guyana. We offer property owners a free online assessment to determine if they face property fraud risk. Published in Indo Caribbean World. May 17, 2023. https://www.flipsnack.com/icworld/icwmay17-2023.html
