Land Transactions, Litigation & Conveyancing
We support clients through the whole life of a land transaction: acquiring, selling, leasing, developing and transferring interests in land, while identifying the legal risks before they become expensive. We also handle disputes over ownership, possession, boundaries and leases.
Buyers and sellers of land and houses in Accra and beyond, landlords and tenants agreeing a lease, developers assembling sites, and families settling title to land they have held for years.
What we do
- Land acquisition and sale: The transaction from offer to completion, with the price, conditions and timing fixed in writing before money moves.
- Conveyancing: Preparation and completion of the transfer, including the deed of assignment and everything the registry will ask for.
- Land searches and due diligence: Searches at the Lands Commission and the relevant registry to confirm who holds the land, on what terms, and what is registered against it.
- Preparation and review of land agreements: Agreements drafted or reviewed to match what the search showed, not what the parties assumed.
- Leases and tenancy arrangements: Residential and commercial leases with clear terms on rent, review, repairs, renewal and ending the lease early.
- Property development transactions: Site assembly, development and construction-related agreements, and the consents a project needs before work starts.
- Land registration: Stamping and registration of the transfer or lease, so that your interest is on the record and not only in your file.
- Land and boundary disputes: Advice and representation where two people claim the same land, a boundary is contested, or a sale has gone wrong.
- Recovery of possession and related litigation: Proceedings to recover land or premises from someone occupying without a right to be there.
How a matter usually runs
- Tell us about the land and the deal: Where it is, who is selling or letting, what has been agreed so far, and what documents you have seen.
- Searches and a report: We run the searches and give you a written report: what the records show, what is missing, and whether to proceed.
- Documents and negotiation: We draft or review the agreement and the deed, and negotiate the terms the report flagged.
- Completion and registration: Signing, payment against documents, stamping and registration, with the registered title returned to you.
What to bring
- Any document the seller or landlord has shown you
- A site plan, if there is one
- Receipts or correspondence about the deal
- Your identification and, for a company, its registration documents
- Details of anyone else who has claimed the land
Common questions
Should I pay a deposit before the search is done?
We advise against it. A search takes days; a lost deposit takes years to recover. If the seller insists, we can set up an arrangement where the money is not paid to the seller directly.
What does a title search actually tell me?
Who the registry records as the holder, the nature of their interest, its term, and any registered encumbrance such as a mortgage or a court order. It does not tell you about occupiers or unregistered claims, which is why we also ask about the land's history.
How long does registration take?
It varies by registry and by how complete the file is. We prepare the file to avoid the queries that cause most of the delay, and we follow it through.
Someone has started building on my land. What now?
Gather your documents and photograph what has been done, and let us write before anyone confronts anyone. Self-help turns a land question into a criminal one.
Can you handle a lease for a shop or an office?
Yes. Commercial leases need particular attention to rent review, service charges, fit-out, and what happens at the end of the term.