Registering Property in Ghana

[Ɔkyeame Kwame]

Registering Property in Ghana




This is a step by step walk-through of how to register property in Ghana sent out on Feb 15, 2008 on okyeame Googlegroup.

Registration Requirements:

Procedure 1.
Preparation of the transfer document to include the site plan
Time to complete: 2-5 days
Cost to complete: GHC 100.00 - 150.00

Comment:
An attorney prepares the transfer document (transfer deed) to include site
plan preparation. The deed must be signed by both the vendor and the purchaser
and their witnesses.

Procedure 2.
Assessment and payment of Stamp duty
Time to complete: 3-14 days
Cost to complete: GHC 55.00 (Processing fee) + 0.5% of property value
(stamp duty)

Comment:
Stamp Duty is assessed and paid at Land Valuation Board. The buyer presents
the deed of assignment to the Land Valuation Board or the Valuation.
Department of the Internal Revenue Service for the assessment of Stamp Duty and pays
the presentation fee. The property is inspected to ascertain its current open
market value. The buyer pays Stamp Duty to the Land Valuation Board or the
Valuation Department of the Internal Revenue Service. The Stamp Duty Act of
2005 (Act 6S9) reduced the stamp duty from 2% to 0.5%. This Act states that for
the conveyance or transfer on the sale of a property, the stamp duty is
0.25% where the property value is less than GHC 10000. For properties valued
between GHC 10000 and 50000, stamp duty is 0.5%, and for properties valued above
GHC 50000, stamp duty is 1%.

Procedure 3.
Submit application for title certificate at Land Title Registry
Time to complete: 1 day
Cost to complete: GHC 2.00

Comment:
Submission of application form for Title Certificate and payment of
processing fee at Land Title Registry. The documentation shall include: Application
form Original and one copy of the deed of assignment, duly completed Land
Certificate Company's certificate of incorporation.

Procedure 4.
Publication of transaction in national weekly newspaper
Time to complete: 7-21 days
Cost to complete: GHC 8.00

Comment:
The transaction must be published in the national weekly newspaper in order
to issue Land Title Certificate. The fee for publication is GHC 8 for land
the size of 0.25 acres or less. Where the Land Certificate is urgently
required, the applicant has the option to choose what is known as "special publication
". In that case, the amount payable is GHC 95. However, if the size of the
land plot is above 1 acre (but less than 4 acres), the amount payable is GHC
125. If the size of the land plot is above 4 acres, the amount payable is 2%
of GHC 8 on every 0.25 acre. The current position, however, is that where the
size of the land is more than 4 acres, the amount payable is a flat rate of
GHC 200.

Procedure 5.
Issuance of title certificate
Time to complete: 1-14 days
Cost to complete: no cost

Comment:
The title Certificate is issued by the Land Title Registry. The transaction
is recorded on the Land Certificate, which is returned to the owner. The
original of the deed of assignment, having been stamped to show that it has been
registered, is also returned to the applicant. The Registry keeps a
duplicate. The folio of the Register is filed and the transaction document is placed
in the land parcel file. The owner will use the property after the title is
issued by Land Title (in areas covered by Land Title Registration) or when the
Deed has been registered under the Deeds Registration Act and Development
Permit granted by the Assembly. Most often property owners do not wait to go
through these processes before making use of the land.