How to buy property in Guyana

Set your budget, hire a Guyanese attorney, have the title checked, then sign. Keep to that order, and pay nothing until your attorney has searched the title.

Allow 6-12 weeks for a clean transport (a transport is the private ownership deed), and longer with a mortgage. That's our working estimate, not an official figure. Registry processing alone is about 2 weeks, before tax clearance and advertising. The Registrar said up to 3 months in 2014, with tax problems the main delay. Land with a Certificate of Title, the other title system, can be faster.

Before you sign

1. Set a budget. On top of the price, allow about 3.5-4.5% for duty, fees and your attorney. Our guide to closing costs has worked examples, and the calculators will run your own numbers.
2. Talk to lenders early if you need a loan. See getting a mortgage.
3. Find the property. Look at what's for sale and read the area pages. Listed prices are asking prices, and we found no public record of what homes actually sold for.
4. Hire your own attorney. The Deeds Registry rules let you lodge papers yourself, but a Registry account from 2014 said a lawyer must prepare them, and warned about touts. Treat an attorney as essential.
5. Find out what the seller holds. A transport and a Certificate of Title go through different registries, and some documents offered for sale are neither.
6. Have the title searched. Neither register can be searched online, so this is done in person. Ask too about the seller's tax and rates status, the survey plan and any mortgage, and find out whether anyone else is living on the land.
7. Sign a written agreement of sale, usually drafted by an attorney. The deposit is typically 10%. Put the completion date and the handover date in it. You can then protect your deposit at the registry.

If the land is under a transport

1. The seller gets a compliance certificate from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and a local authority rates certificate. Without both, the transport can't pass.
2. Instructions are lodged with the title documents and sworn statements (affidavits) from buyer and seller giving the true price.
3. A notice goes in the Gazette so that anyone with a claim can object. The 2022 consolidated rules read as once, on a Saturday, with opposition closing on the 13th day. Other sources describe longer periods, so your attorney should confirm current practice. Anyone who files an opposition then has 10 days to go to court.
4. If nobody objects, the papers go to the Registrar after the 14th day and the transport is passed. You may hear that you must appear before a Supreme Court judge. Section 16 of the Deeds Registry Act lets it be passed before the Registrar, with the same effect.
5. Duty of 2% and a general fee of 0.5% are paid in cash or by manager's cheque (a bank-issued cheque).

If the land has a Certificate of Title

The Land Registry asks for a transfer form, affidavits from both sides, GRA and municipal rates compliance, the original certificate, and a certified power of attorney if one is used. Processing takes up to 2 weeks and payment is cash only. Duty is 2% here too, with lower fees. Its page lists no Gazette step, and anyone objecting uses a caveat, a notice lodged against the title. If the land is mortgaged, the lender must consent to the transfer.

Getting the keys

No registry step hands you the keys, so rely on the handover date in your agreement. If you're borrowing, allow for the mortgage too: the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority quotes 6 weeks to register one on transport land. Once you're the owner, tell the local council within three months.

Buying from abroad? Read buying from overseas as well.

This is general information, not legal advice. Use a Guyanese attorney for your purchase.