Barbados Government to Modernize Land Transactions for Increased Competitiveness, Prime Minister Announces

Government is set to overhaul its “outdated and archaic” land transaction process to make it easier to buy a piece of the rock and make the country more competitive, according to Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

She told a colloquium hosted by the Ministry of Housing, Lands and Maintenance at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Friday the current system was impeding economic growth and needed urgent reform.

The transformation of the process, through digitisation, would improve efficiency and attract more foreign investment. She stressed that Barbados risked being left behind if it did not adapt to the digital age.

Mottley said: “If this country does not move from an analogue environment into a digital environment, we are going to be left along the way. Barbados does not have what it takes to be able to say to the world with magic, come here and don’t go anywhere else. We have to earn our way in this world, and we earn our way by being attractive and competitive. And, therefore, a system that was designed in the middle of the 19th century cannot now be a system that is propelling Barbados into the fourth decade of the 21st century.”

Noting that it was quicker and easier to buy land in other Caribbean nations, the prime minister lamented the lengthy delays in Barbados’ land acquisition process, saying it discouraged both citizens and businesses. She cited instances where people lost interest in deals due to protracted waiting times for necessary documents, such as certificates of compliance.

“We know that a person who goes and makes an offer online, as I knew in February this year, can’t even get the agreement of sales signed properly in September, October because you’re waiting for a certificate of compliance, you’re waiting for this body to send in that, you’re waiting for that body to send in this. It’s crazy; and the average person, if they have options, will say: ‘Don’t worry with that, I’m moving on’,” the prime minister said.

Mottley said the time had come to simplify the process and make land more accessible to all Barbadians. She warned that if the land transaction process remained so burdensome, the current generation would have failed.

“The time has come for us now to use the collective expertise in this role to deconstruct and reconstruct and to give the average person not the promise, the reality of being able to own land or own property in this country, first and foremost, that is affordable, that is accessible and that is done efficiently,” she said, adding that an improved real estate sector would allow the government to increase public sector wages.

Minister of Housing Dwight Sutherland echoed the Prime Minister’s concerns, describing the current land transaction process as “bogged down by inefficiencies, complexities and perhaps outdated practices”. He contrasted Barbados’ system with those in other countries where land sales could be completed in a week, while in Barbados the process could take months or even longer.

“It is with this in mind that the government sees it as imperative that the land transaction process be transformed as part of a measure that could stimulate economic growth. A streamlined land transaction process can attract both local and foreign investors, boost property values and increase tax revenue,” he said.

Former president of the Barbados Bar Association, Rosalind Smith-Millar, outlined several challenges facing the land transaction system. These included delays in processing registered titles, inconsistencies in official searches, and difficulties associated with unregistered titles, such as restoring title deeds and gaining access to parcel plans.

Smith-Millar called for the urgent digitisation of land registry services, advocating for a modern website with portals and easy-to-use search functions to streamline the process. (SZB)