Ms. Shelley Isles
About Us
The Land Registry of St. Kitts and Nevis is a Department, within the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, which is responsible for registering and recording ownership of land in St. Kitts and Nevis.
It was established under the Land Registry Act No 10 of 2017 which provides for the establishment of a dedicated national Land Registry with a main office in St. Kitts and a branch office in Nevis; the staffing of the Registry; the converting of hard copy records to and the maintenance of records in an electronic format and the availability of direct and remote access to registry services. This represented a legal separation from the High Court.
The department consists of a main unit on the island of St. Kitts and a branch unit on the island of Nevis. The office operations are led by a Registrar supported by administrative and clerical staff.
Mission Statement
To provide prompt, efficient and customer friendly land registration and information services by leveraging technological advancement in order to guarantee and protect property rights in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Land Title Registration
Register ownership and issue Certificates of Title under the Title By Registration Act.
Deed and Document Registration
Record and execute deeds, mortgages, and wills in accordance with applicable property laws.
Search and Record Services
Facilitate physical and (soon) electronic searches of land titles and records for public and legal professionals.
Land Data Management
Convert and maintain land records in a secure digital format, supporting future integration with national systems.
What We Do
The responsibilities of the Land Registry include:
- Hearing of cases and delivering judgment in relation to Summary Criminal Matters;
- Imposition of Penalties/Fines or Sentences in Summary Criminal matters;
- Hearing and settling of disputes in Civil Matters involving amounts up to a value of $25,000.00 (or higher in special cases);
- Maintenance Orders;
- Domestic and Juvenile Matters.
- Custody and child protection responsibilities where necessary.
- Court of Petty Sessions, re Granting of Liquor Licenses.
- Convening Committal Proceedings in relation to criminal matters that need to be tried in the High Court;
- Hearing of matters relating to distress;
- Consideration of Bail Applications
- Vehicle and Road Traffic Court;
- Summary Jurisdiction (Quasi- Criminal) Protection and Maintenance of married woman and children;
- Matters relating to salvage and wrecks;
- Coroner’s Inquest or Inquiry Matters
Get In Touch
Office Phone
(869) 467-1976
Email Us
landregistry@gov.kn
Opening Hours
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Mon - Fri)
Address
Justice & Legal Complex (upstairs formerly C&C Supermarket) George Street, Basseterre, St. Kitts
Accordingly, the operations and activities of the Land Registry Department and all related matters are performed in accordance with the provisions of the following legislations:
- Land Registry Act N 10 of 2017
- Title By Registration Act Cap 10.19
- Registration and Records Act Cap 23.25
- Conveyancing And Law Of Property Act Cap 10.04
- Condominium Act Cap 10.03
- St. Kitts (Planned Community) Act Cap 20.58
- Saint Christopher and Nevis Vacation Plan and Time-Share Act Cap 10.22
The operations of the Land Registry; are financed by budgetary allocations through the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs as outlined in the Annual Estimates and Budget of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.
How We Serve the Public
- By administering registration activities in keeping with the various requirements when individuals present matters for registration under the various applicable laws.
- By facilitating physical searches of the Titles by members of the public, in response to specific search requests. Physical searches are also most frequently requested by Attorneys-at-Law on behalf of their clients when dealing with the legal processes associated with a variety of interests in property. Most searches are currently done by clerks from the various law firms.
- Clerks are available to provide assistance to persons requesting searches.
- In the future, we will facilitate online electronic search capabilities for Attorneys-at-Law and the general public via the Land Administration Information System database.
- The general public can initiate contact with the Department via correspondence, telephone or by visiting our offices.
- Attorneys-at-Law interact with the Department on behalf of their clients in relation to registration procedures.
Special Note
The establishment of a dedicated Land Registry on St. Kitts with a branch on Nevis is a historic event. In times past, legal transactions relating to registering land were dealt with in the High Court Registry along with all of the other High Court matters such as Probate, Deed Poll, criminal matters and divorce.
The separation of the land matters from the High Court is not an unusual phenomenon. Most of the Land Registries in the Caribbean region emerged from the Registries of their high courts.
One of the overarching benefits of the establishment of a dedicated Land Registry is that it can contribute to the improvement of the ranking of our Federation on the World Bank’s Global Reports on the Ease of Doing Business with regard to the registration of land in St. Kitts.
The Land Administration Information System
The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) signed the Implementing Arrangement for the St. Kitts and Nevis Land Administration Information System (LAIS) Project in June, 2018.
The LAIS being built will include a digital Land Registry Case Management module and an Online Search database for Land data. This will enable the Attorneys-at-Law and the general public to perform electronic searches of Titles, be notified of the status of land registration and be able to track the progress of registration from the point of submission to the point of collection of the documents.
Furthermore, the LAIS will be integrated with the Inland Revenue Department, Ministry of Sustainable Development – Administration, Physical Planning, Lands & Surveys Department and the Accountant General’s Department to facilitate secure data exchange for a seamless land registration process. This system will also be compatible with the Land Folio System by Trimble which was implemented in Nevis. In this way, the land registration process will be simplified, secure, efficient and expeditious.
Implementation of a Cadastral Mapping System.
An integral part of the LAIS is the integration of the Cadastral Mapping System. In this regard, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Medici Land Governance Inc on 30th August 2019. In keeping with the MOU, Medici Land Governance Inc. commenced cadastral mapping in St. Kitts in early December 2019.
The team from Medici Land Governance Inc. is using Drone technology to provide aerial imagery of the land parcels to create a Cadaster in St. Kitts. This will provide a comprehensive visual representation of land and property’s metes-and-bounds of St. Kitts.
The benefits of the integration of the Cadastral System with the LAIS are:
- Providing security of tenure to land holders.
- Providing accurate identification of land.
- Positive impact on the ease of doing business.
- Helping to secure title to land expeditiously.
The Land Registry Department looks forward to providing prompt, efficient and customer friendly land registration and information services by leveraging technological advancement in order to guarantee and protect property rights in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Frequently-Asked Questions
It is not a legal requirement to hire an attorney. You may prepare, file and collect documents for the Land Registry. However, we strongly recommend that you seek legal advice and guidance as matters may contain risks or complexities that may be unfamiliar to a person without legal training.
The Land Registry does not sell or distribute land. The Land Registry processes the Land transfer documents signed by landowners who are selling their property and registers the property in the new owners’ names. For example, if John agrees to sell his land to Mary, the transfer document John signed to transfer the land to Mary must be brought to the Land Registry. We will remove John’s name as owner and update the land records with Mary as the new owner.
Some land documents are called deeds. Deeds refer to lands held and registered under the Conveyance and Law of Property Act and recorded in the Register of Deeds. In St. Kitts and Nevis, lands are held by Deeds or by Certificates of Title (COT). Certificates of Title are governed by the Title by Registration Act and recorded in the Register of Titles. It’s important to know whether the land you are searching for is held by deed or by certificate of title.
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) would have to review and register the transfer in their property tax records before it is submitted to the Land Registry. Once recorded at the IRD, taxes accruing for that land parcel would no longer be charged to the seller or former owner, but to the buyer or new owner.
If a landowner loses his/her Certificate of Title, then he/she must apply to the Registrar of Lands for a replacement Certificate. The process is usually handled by an attorney.
The Searches are $5.00 stamp per search. Photocopies of the documents are available for cash payment of $2.00 per page.
It depends. Errors on the Certificate of Title may be corrected after an application is made to the Registrar of Lands for correction. If the lands are being transferred, the error and the corrected information may also be recited in the Memorandum of Transfer. Each case is different.
Such information is dependent on where the land is situated. Lands developed by NHC (or previously CHA) may have ownership information recorded at NHC. Lands sold through Government by Crown Grant have information in the Ministry of Sustainable Development records. Reference may also be made to the Inland Revenue to determine who the respective taxpayers are. The information gleaned will depend on each case.