MoH meets Land Registry to tackle title processing delays amid massive housing expansion

Housing Ministers Collin Croal and Vanessa Benn, along with staff of the Ministry of Housing, recently met with officials of the Land Registry to address the processing of Government titles and operational challenges impacting the registry.
Discussions focused on the significant increase in the volume of certificates of titles arising from the rapid expansion of housing schemes by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), which has placed operational strain on the Land Registry.

Registrar of Lands, Rosalie Robertson, confirmed expanded registration areas and extended working hours to facilitate Government-related titles, noting that the current processing timeframe is approximately three months and is expected to reduce once the backlog is cleared.
Following the meeting, the Ministers toured the land registry and observed first-hand several operational constraints, including document storage.
The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to continued collaboration with the Land Registry to resolve the challenges identified and to ensure timely land tenure for citizens.
The Ministerial team consisted of Director of Operations Denise King-Tudor, Head of the Corporate Legal Secretariat Hannifah Jordan, and Head of the Conveyance Department Esther Stephen.
Since 2020, the Housing Ministry, through the CH&PA, processed over 25,000 Certificates of Title or Transports as part of the land regularisation programme.
Of these, some 4498 were processed in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) alone, with 2953 titles distributed over the last five years. Between January and November 2025, 872 Certificates of Title were distributed.
At the beginning of the year, some 23 families of Greenwich on the East Bank of Essequibo (EBE) in Region Three received their Certificates of Title as the Housing Ministry embarks on an aggressive land titling programme this year with the Guyana Government’s continued drive to complete homeownership.
In addition, 250 Certificates of Title for plots of land in Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) were distributed to residents earlier in the year.

A total of 3000 residents of Cotton Tree are said to benefit from the project being spearheaded by the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission.
President Dr Ali had stated that the land regularisation process had begun in 2009 under the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration, but the work was stalled for five years during the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) regime.
He noted that later in the year, areas such as Stewartville, Uitvlugt in Region Three, and several villages along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) are among the villages to be formalised.