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31st July 2010
Land law: FAQs

What is a caution?
In Saint Lucia, a caution can be placed on a parcel of land, which would prevent the sale of land. A caution can only be granted by the Land Registrar or a judge if it can be shown that the individuals have an interest in the land. An application would have to be made to the Land Registrar or a judge to have the caution removed, if the cautioner is not willing to remove the caution. For example, in a sale of land, the buyer can place a caution on the land if he or she had given the vendor a substantial deposit for the land, to prevent the vendor from selling the land to someone else.

What is absolute title?
Absolute title means that there is full recognition of the rights and ownership of the proprietor.

What is unregistered land?
(1) Land which is ‘unregistered’ means that title to the land cannot be found in the Land registry, in accordance with the Land Registration Act, but may be on an old fashioned deed.
(2) Unregistered land is land to which title is not registered.
(3) It does not mean that there is no provision or opportunity for the registration of other rights and interests affecting the land.
(4) The purchaser will have to identify a good ‘root of title’ by examining the deed and the land before completing the purchase. The purchaser must also make his or her own investigations based on the title deeds.

What is servitude?
Servitude is a right of way granted by the courts to allow passage over another individual’s land. This usually occurs when there is no other way to gain access to the main road or to the adjacent land.
 
 

What is prescription?
According to the Civil Code of Saint Lucia, Chapter 4.01, 2006 Revised Edition, Book nineteenth, Chapter first, clause 2047:
“Prescription is a means of acquiring property, or of being discharged from an obligation by lapse of time, and subject to conditions established by law.”
Prescription normally lasts for thirty years. It occurs when an individual occupies land for this period without any interference from the actual landowner.

What is a usufruct?
The definition of a ‘usufruct’ as outlined in the Civil Code of Saint Lucia, Chapter 4.01, 2006 Revised Edition, Book third, Chapter first, clause 394 is as follows:
‘Usufruct is the right of using and enjoying things of which another has the ownership, in the same manner as the owner uses and enjoys them, but subject to the obligation of preserving their substance.’
The term ‘usufruct’ deals with a situation in which someone who is not the owner of a property is given the right to use and enjoy the property as the owner would, insofar as the usufructuary does not alter or misuse the property. At the end of the period, the property must be returned to the owner in a similar condition as the beginning of the usufruct.

What is a lease?
According to the Civil Code of Saint Lucia, Chapter 4.01, 2006 Revised Edition, Book seventh, Chapter first, clause 1509: a lease is a way to give an individual the rights of enjoyment of land for a specified period. It is renting land; the lessor is the individual who owns the land and the lessee is the individual renting the land.

What is land?
To lawyers, land does not simply mean something physical; it is ultimately a discussion about the nature of the land and rights of ownership.

Ms. Trudy O. Glasgow is a practising attorney at the law firm Gordon, Gordon & Co., (and has also taught law at University level in the UK)*
This column is for general use only, for advice specifically for your case, please see your lawyer.

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