Registering Property in Guyana

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Standardized property

Registration Requirements Summary:

Registration Requirement Details

Procedure 1.

Lawyer executes sale-purchase agreement

Time to complete:

1 day

Cost to complete:

2% property value (1% for seller+1% for buyer)

Name of Agency:

Comment:

While not mandatory, it is common practice for a lawyer to advise the parties on the transfer process, in addition to drafting and executing the sale-purchase agreement. The law states a fee of 0.8% for both parties but in practice lawyers round it up to 1% and most of them charge 1% to each of the two parties.

Procedure 2.

Obtain a Certificate of Compliance from the Inland Revenue Department

Time to complete:

21 days(simultaneous with procedure 3)

Cost to complete:

no cost

Name of Agency:

Internal Revenue Department of the Guyana Revenue Authority

Comment:

A Certificate of Compliance is obtained at the Inland Revenue Department certifying that all taxes in relation to the parties have been paid, or that they pay any outstanding taxes at that time. In case any capital gains arise, a 20% tax on capital gains will be applied to the transaction.

Procedure 3.

Obtain a Certificate of Rates and Taxes from the relevant local tax authority

Time to complete:

2 days (simultaneous with procedure 2)

Cost to complete:

GYD 200 - 500

Name of Agency:

Local Tax Authority - City council

Comment:

A Certificate of Rates and Taxes is obtained from the relevant local tax authority certifying that all rates and taxes in relation to the property have been paid in full. The certificate is vital in order to register.

Procedure 4.

Obtain official valuation on the property

Time to complete:

2 - 7 days

Cost to complete:

GYD 5000

Name of Agency:

Comment:

Parties call the official state valuator’s office to make an appointment. The valuator comes either the same day or the following day to make an assessment and presents the parties with a document attesting to the amount. It is important to note that the valuation may be completed by the state valuation office or by a private valuator (in which case the cost would be higher). Although there is no official cost attached to the valuation by a state valuation officer, it will be necessary to pay the officer transportation fees - 5,000 GYD.

Procedure 5.

Lawyer lodges documents with the Registrar of Lands ("Deeds Registry")

Time to complete:

3-4 day

Cost to complete:

2% property value (registration fee) + 0.5% of property value (stamp duty)

Name of Agency:

Registrar of Lands (Deeds Registry)

Comment:

The required documentation is lodged with the Registrar of Lands. Taxes and registration fees are calculated. Lodging the documents with the registry takes one day but the time the lawyer needs to prepare these documents brings it up to 3-4 days. The documentation shall include: (1) “instructions to advertise” signed by an attorney (2) “Affidavit of the vendor” in which vendor confirms his ownership and that he sold the land for this amount. This is signed and sworn before the Commission of Oaths, (3) “Affidavit of the purchaser” in which purchaser confirms he bought the land for this amount. This is also signed and sworn before the Commission of Oaths, (4) Compliance document from the Inland Revenue Authority, (5) "Rates and Taxes Certificate", which is the certificate of compliance with local taxes, (6) valuation of the land.

Procedure 6.

Search and typing of Certificate of Title

Time to complete:

3 weeks

Cost to complete:

Already paid in Procedure 5

Name of Agency:

Registrar of Lands (Deeds Registry)

Comment:

After payment of taxes and fees, the deeds Registrar will conduct a search on the property to see if there are any more mortgages, charges, etc., on the property. Even though the property is considered transferred at this stage, there is a requirement to publish the certificate in the Official Gazette on Saturday. 2 weeks later, if no opposition, the deeds Registry certifies and issues the title to the new owner. This timeline makes the total time needed as 3 weeks in Georgetown to complete this procedure.