Fiji

Registering Property in

Fiji

Listed below is a detailed summary of the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standard Property Transfer

  • Property Value: FJD 334,680.56
  • City: Suva

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Present transfer documents for stamping at the Stamp Duty Office and pay stamp duty

The transfer documents can be prepared by the parties or by their solicitors. Once completed, they are submitted for stamping and payment of transfer tax at the Stamp Duties Office.The tax agency FIRCA has an officer working in the registry to verify that companies pay the appropriate land transfer taxes. The Stamp Duty is waived for first time residential house purchases.
For properties held for less than 5 years, the Transfer Tax is paid at the same time and is between 5 and 15% of the property value.

Agency: Stamp Duty Office 		7 days 2% of property value (Stamp duty)
2 Settlement takes place at the Registrar of Titles Office

Parties meet at the Registrar of Titles Office for settlement. They first double check encumbrances on the property and then exchange the titles for the payment.
When this formality is accomplished, they submit the transfer documents for registration. The registration fee (FDJ 10 for properties over FDJ 100,000 + VAT of 12.5%) is paid. It is possible that some new mortgages might still be in "the pipeline" and are not yet recorded on the property at the settlement (the mortgage has been submitted in the registry, but it has not been inscribed yet). To avoid finding later about a mortgage on the property, it is possible to request a "guaranteed search" (under section 30, 31 and 32 of the Land Transfer act) where the registry checks and certifies that there are no other mortgages registered.

Agency: Registrar of Titles Office 		1 day FJD 10
3 Buyer receives the title with his name

The Land registry is managed on paper and is based on a Torrens system of land registration. There is only one office in Suva for the whole country. After submitting the transfer documents for registration, the existing title is memorialized to record the Transfer on the Certificate of Title and the memorials signed by the Registrar of Titles. Once the memorials are signed, the duplicate certificate of title is released to the party who lodged the Transfer for registration at the Titles Office.

The NativeLand Trust Board is not consulted but must first approve any land transfer of a native lease. Without such prior approval, a transfer is null and void.
The NLTB office is not in the same building as the Land Registry (Registrar of Titles office). It is in the building across the road.



Agency: Registrar of Titles Office 		60 days Already paid
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