KINGSTON, Jamaica – The National Land Agency (NLA) is reporting that it has issued over 8,000 titles under the Systematic Land Registration Programme since the programme began in 2021.

The agency was mandated by the Government to deliver a total of 20,000 titles in three years. Of this number, 12,000 are to be issued under the Systematic Land Registration Programme.

“The National Land Agency has issued a total of 12,224 Certificates of Title; 8,284 of which have been issued via the Systematic Land Registration Programme”, disclosed Shalise Porteous, senior director of adjudication services at the NLA.

Systematic Land Registration (SLR) is the methodical and orderly registration of parcels of land in a designated area known as the Systematic Adjudication Area.

The project is currently being administered in St Elizabeth, St Catherine and Manchester, and over 100 communities have been declared as Systematic Adjudication Areas.

Porteous said the programme is bearing fruit.

“This data is proof that the Systematic Land Registration process works, as more Certificates of Title have been issued from this programme when compared to any other land titling initiative in this country,” Porteous stated.

The Adjudication Services Division of the NLA assists landowners who have been in undisturbed and undisputed possession of their land for 12 years or more, to claim ownership via the Systematic Land Registration Process.

Under the Systematic Land Registration Project, individuals no longer must visit the NLA to apply for a registered title. Instead, representatives from the NLA visit the declared communities, to adjudicate the land rights and interests of the residents.