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An Analytical Review of Ghana’s Land Reform and Persistent Dispute Culture

 

INTRODUCTION

Land remains one of the most valuable and contested resources in Ghana. Beyond its economic significance, land serves as a source of identity, cultural heritage, political influence, and social security. It is therefore unsurprising that disputes relating to land ownership, boundaries, possession, succession, and interests in land continue to constitute a significant portion of cases before the courts.[1] For decades, successive governments have sought to reform Ghana’s land administration system with the aim of reducing uncertainty in land transactions and curbing the persistent wave of land litigation that has burdened both litigants and the judicial system.

The enactment of the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) marked a significant milestone in Ghana’s land law reform agenda. The Act consolidated several fragmented pieces of land legislation into a single, comprehensive framework and introduced measures to enhance land administration, improve land registration, regulate customary land transactions, and promote certainty in land ownership.[2] By harmonizing and consolidating the legal regime governing land in Ghana,[3] Act 1036 was expected to address many of the systemic challenges that had historically contributed to land disputes.

Notwithstanding these reforms, land litigation remains prevalent across the country. Disputes involving multiple sales of land, competing claims of ownership, family and stool land conflicts, boundary disagreements, fraudulent transactions, and challenges relating to land registration continue to occupy a substantial portion of the courts’ docket. The persistence of these disputes raises an important question: if the legal framework governing land has been significantly modernized, why do land-related disputes continue to thrive?

The answer lies partly in the reality that legislation alone cannot resolve deeply rooted structural and institutional challenges. While Act 1036 provides a robust legal framework for land administration, many of the factors that fuel land disputes in Ghana exist beyond the text of the law itself. The coexistence of customary and statutory systems of land ownership, inadequate record-keeping, registration delays, competing proprietary interests, chieftaincy disputes, family succession conflicts, fraudulent dealings, and limited public awareness of legal requirements governing land transactions continue to generate uncertainty and contestation over land rights. Moreover, the assumption that land registration automatically guarantees an indefeasible title has often proven misplaced, as disputes may still arise despite the existence of registered interests.

This article examines the reasons why land litigation remains prevalent in Ghana despite the enactment of the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036). It analyses the objectives and key reforms introduced by the Act, explores the limitations of legislative intervention in addressing land disputes, and evaluates the practical challenges that continue to undermine certainty in land ownership and transactions. The article argues that although Act 1036 has significantly strengthened Ghana’s land law framework, the persistence of land litigation reflects broader challenges in implementation, administration, customary land governance, and enforcement that cannot be resolved through legislation alone.

  1. THE PROBLEM OF LAND LITIGATION IN GHANA.

What is land?

  Before considering the prevalence of land litigation in Ghana, it is useful to briefly clarify what constitutes “land” under the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036). The Act defines land broadly to include the solid surface of the earth, vegetation, land covered by water, buildings and structures, and “any interest or right in, to, or over immovable property.⁵ This broad definition extends beyond the physical land itself to encompass the various legal interests that may be held in or over it, including ownership, usufructuary interests, leaseholds and customary interests.⁶ The multiplicity of interests capable of existing in the same land is one of the factors that can give rise to competing claims and, consequently, land disputes.

1.1 The Nature and Extent of Land Litigation

Land disputes in Ghana are not a marginal category of civil claims; they are widely regarded as the dominant one. Judicial officials and practitioners have repeatedly cited land-related matters as accounting for over half of all civil litigation before Ghanaian courts, with some estimates placing the figure considerably higher in certain jurisdictions.[4] Whatever the precise proportion, the figures vary by court, region, and period.

These disputes take several recurring forms: competing claims of ownership arising from the sale of the same parcel to multiple buyers; boundary disputes stemming from poor or non-existent survey records; challenges as to whether a vendor, including a family head, a chief, or usufructuary holder

had the authority to alienate the land; and disputes over compulsorily acquired land, where compensation and re-entry rights are contested. Many of these cases take years, and sometimes decades, to resolve, moving from the District or High Court through the Court of Appeal and, not infrequently, to the Supreme Court.[5]

1.2 The Socio-Economic Impact of Land Disputes

The consequences of Ghana’s litigation culture extend beyond the immediate parties. Prolonged land disputes tie up capital that could otherwise support housing, agriculture and commercial development, as investors and financial institutions are reluctant to commit funds to land subject to contested or uncertain title.[6] Disputes over family and stool lands can also fracture kinship and community relationships and, in some cases, escalate into violence involving “land guards” engaged to enforce competing claims outside the legal process.[7]

At the broader economic level, persistent land disputes undermine investor confidence, increase transaction and due diligence costs, and discourage long-term investment in real estate, agriculture, mining and manufacturing. They may also delay public infrastructure projects where competing claims affect the availability or use of land. The judicial system is similarly affected, as the volume and complexity of land litigation contribute to case backlogs and delays in the administration of justice. It was against this backdrop that the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) was enacted to consolidate, modernise and rationalise Ghana’s land law framework.

  1. THE LAND ACT 2020, (ACT 1036): A LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE

 2.1 Objectives of the Act.

The Land Act 2020 (Act 1036) describes itself as legislation to revise, harmonise, and consolidate the laws on land, with a view to ensuring sustainable land administration, management and effective and efficient land tenure.[8] In substance, it sought to achieve three broad objectives: first, to repeal a patchwork of colonial- and post-independence-era statutes including the Land Registry Act, 1962, the Administration of Lands Act, 1962, and several others with a single, internally consistent code.[9] Secondly, to codify interests in land and customary practices that had previously existed only in case law and academic commentary, thereby reducing definitional uncertainty; and third, to strengthen transparency, accountability, and public confidence in land transactions and land governance institutions.[10]

2.2 Some Key Reforms Introduced by the Act.

The Act introduced several substantive innovations relevant to the litigation problem it was meant to help solve:

  • Codification of interests in land — the Act formally defines allodial title, common law freehold, customary freehold, usufructuary interest, leasehold interest, and customary tenancy, interests that were previously scattered across case law.[11]
  • Criminalisation of land guards — Section 12 of the Act criminalizes various forms of unlawful interference with land ownership and development , including intimidation , violence, extortion, and unlawful control of land development. Depending on the nature of the offence the Act prescribes substantial custodial sentences ranging from five to fifteen years.[12]
  • Electronic conveyancing and a land information system — the Lands Commission is mandated to develop the IT infrastructure necessary to modernise registration and reduce reliance on paper-based records.[13]
  • Enhanced procedural protections — including the ability to obtain an interlocutory injunction against an unknown trespasser, and a requirement that judgments affecting land be accompanied by a site plan showing the precise boundaries in dispute, to curb post-judgment manipulation of plot sizes.[14]
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) — The Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) promotes the use of ADR in resolving boundary disputes, competing claims and other land-related conflicts. Where disputes arise and cannot be settled by the Land Registrar, parties may be referred to ADR mechanisms under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798) before resorting to litigation.[15]

On paper, these reforms directly target several of the classic drivers of land litigation in Ghana. The question this article now turns to is why, despite this comprehensive legislative response, land disputes have not meaningfully abated.

  1. Why Land Litigation Remains Prevalent Despite The Passing Of The Land Act 2020.

The continued prevalence of land litigation following the enactment of the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) raises an important question: if the law has been modernised and consolidated, why do land disputes remain so widespread? The answer lies partly in the fact that legislative reform, by itself, cannot eliminate the institutional and administrative challenges affecting the creation, recording, transfer and enforcement of land rights.

Consequently, several structural and practical conditions continue to generate disputes despite the reforms introduced by Act 1036. These include the coexistence of customary and statutory land tenure systems, multiple sales of the same parcel of land, weaknesses in land administration and registration, inadequate cadastral and boundary records, delays in land registration and dispute resolution, fraudulent land transactions, institutional fragmentation, and limited public awareness of the law. The following sections examine these factors and how they continue to contribute to land litigation despite the reforms introduced by Act 1036.

3.1 Multiple Sales of Land and Encroachment of Land.

Situations where the same vendor sells the same parcel to multiple purchasers or where competing persons purport to derive title from the same person are common causes of such disputes. The problem is exacerbated by poor land records, low registration rates, informal land transactions, and inadequate due diligence, all of which create opportunities for fraud and conflicting claims. The prevalence of this practice predates the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036). In Amuzu v Oklikah[16], for example, the vendor fraudulently sold the same parcel of land to a second purchaser despite an earlier sale to the defendant. Although the plaintiff subsequently registered his conveyance, the court held that he could not rely on the registration because he had notice of the prior sale.

The case illustrates that multiple sales [17] have long been a recurring feature of Ghana’s land market. Recognising this problem, the Land Act, 2020 introduced measures to promote greater certainty in land transactions. Recognizing the prevalence of multiple sales and fraudulent land transactions, the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) introduces specific sanctions to deter such practices. In particular , section 277(2) criminalizes the making of conflicting grants of the same land to more than one person , as well as grants made without title or lawful authority. Notwithstanding these statutory safeguards, multiple sales and competing claims continue to arise, highlighting the limitations of legislation where enforcement , land administration, and verification mechanisms remain inadequate.

3.2 Fraudulent and Void Transactions.

Closely related to multiple sales is the prevalence of fraudulent and otherwise invalid land transactions. These may involve forged conveyancing documents, impersonation of landowners, sales by persons without legal authority or title, forged powers of attorney, and manipulation of land records. Such practices are facilitated by incomplete registration, fragmented land records and inadequate due diligence. In many instances, the fraud is discovered only after the purchaser has paid the purchase price, taken possession or commenced development. By that stage, litigation may become necessary to challenge the validity of the transaction, establish the rightful interest in the land, or recover the property.

The effects of fraudulent land dealings extend beyond private purchasers and increasingly pose risks to the financial sector. In June 2026, for example, the Bank of Ghana cautioned banks and other financial institutions against accepting suspicious land documents as collateral after identifying instances of forged title documents and defective land interests being used to secure credit facilities.[18] The warning underscores the continuing vulnerabilities within Ghana’s land administration system and demonstrates that fraudulent land transactions can undermine not only property rights but also financial stability.

Although the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) creates offences and prescribes sanctions for various unlawful acts relating to land, including land guard activities and other fraudulent conduct, it does not, by itself, eliminate the systemic weaknesses in land administration and documentation that facilitate such fraud. Consequently, disputes arising from fraudulent and void transactions continue to constitute a significant source of land litigation.

3.3 Chieftaincy and Stool Land Disputes

Related to customary tenure, but distinct in character, are disputes arising from chieftaincy and the administration of stool and skin lands.[19] Because stool and skin lands are held in trust for their subjects by the occupant of the relevant stool or skin[20] disputes over the legitimacy of a chief, succession to a stool or skin, or the boundaries of traditional jurisdictions frequently evolve into disputes over ownership and control of land. Rival claimants to traditional office often assert competing authority to allocate or alienate stool land, creating uncertainty for purchasers and investors and giving rise to multiple grants over the same parcel.[21]

These disputes are further complicated by overlapping customary histories, competing claims to paramountcy, and disagreements over traditional boundaries, many of which must first be determined through the chieftaincy dispute resolution mechanisms established under the Constitution and the Chieftaincy Act 2008 before the courts can conclusively determine the corresponding land rights.[22] While the Land Act 1036 regulates the administration and disposition of stool and skin lands, it does not govern questions relating to the recognition, succession or installation of chiefs. These disputes are further complicated by competing claims to traditional authority and boundaries, which are addressed through the chieftaincy dispute resolution mechanisms established under the Constitution and the Chieftaincy Act, 2008 (Act 759). While the resolution of a chieftaincy dispute does not necessarily result in separate land litigation, it may affect the administration and disposition of stool or skin lands where the authority to represent the stool or make grants is contested.

3.4 Family Disputes and Inheritance Issues

Family-owned land constitutes another significant source of land litigation in Ghana. Disputes commonly arise where a family head, acting as the custodian of family property, sells, leases or otherwise deals with family land without the knowledge or consent of other principal family members. Similarly, the death of a family head or senior family member may trigger disagreements over succession, entitlement to family property, and the authority to manage or alienate the land. These disputes are often compounded by intestate succession issues, changing family structures, and the absence of properly documented records of family land ownership, leaving competing parties to rely on oral histories and customary claims.

Although Act 1036[23] imposes fiduciary obligations on family heads and other customary land fiduciaries to protect the interests of beneficiaries, the effectiveness of these safeguards depends on awareness of rights and the willingness of family members to challenge improper transactions. Consequently, many disputes only emerge after a transaction has been completed or development has commenced, at which stage litigation becomes the primary mechanism for resolving competing claims.

3.5 Inadequate Record- Keeping and Registration Delays

Ghana’s dual registration system, the older deeds registration regime and the more secure title registration regime introduced progressively since the 1980s, remains only partially rolled out.[24] Comprehensive title registration has, in practice, been implemented in relatively few areas, leaving much of the country dependent on deeds registration, which records that a document exists but does not guarantee the validity of the title it purports to convey.[25] Historic delays in processing registrations, some running into years, have created a substantial backlog of unregistered or partially registered interests, each a potential seed of future litigation. Act 1036’s electronic conveyancing and land information system provisions are intended to address this, but they depend on infrastructure, funding, and digitization of decades of paper records, a process that is still under way rather than complete.

3.6 Weak enforcement of Land Law

A statute is only as effective as the institutions that enforce it. The criminalisation of land-guard activity under Act 1036, for example, depends on police investigation, prosecutorial capacity, and judicial follow-through to have any deterrent effect; where enforcement is inconsistent or under-resourced, the practical risk of engaging land guards remains low relative to the financial incentive to do so. Similarly, the fiduciary duties imposed on customary land managers are of limited practical value without accessible mechanisms, whether through the Lands Commission, the courts, or traditional councils, for aggrieved family or community members to hold those managers to account.

3.7 Limited Public Awareness and Due Diligence

Finally, a significant proportion of land disputes in Ghana arise not from defects in

the law itself but from inadequate due diligence by purchasers: failure to conduct an official search at the Lands Commission, failure to verify the seller’s actual interest and authority, and failure to engage a licensed surveyor to confirm boundaries before completing a purchase.[26] Public legal literacy on land transactions remains uneven, particularly outside Ghana’s major cities, and Act 1036,  like any statute cannot compel a buyer to exercise the caution the law implicitly expects of them.

4. Is Land Title Registration Enough?

4.1 The Limits of Registration as a Cure for Land Disputes.

Title registration is frequently presented, in policy discussions, as the definitive solution to Ghana’s land litigation problem.[27] Once every parcel is captured in a reliable, searchable register, the argument runs, disputes over ownership should largely disappear. This view, while broadly correct in principle, overstates what registration alone can achieve.

Registration authenticates the existence and, to varying degrees, the validity of an interest that has been recorded; it does not retroactively cure defects in transactions that occurred, or interests that arose, before registration took place, nor does it resolve disputes about facts such as boundaries, occupation, or the identity of the true customary authority that registration records do not, by themselves, settle.

4.2 Registration Versus Ownership

The registration of an interest in land does not, by itself, create or validate title where none previously existed.[28] Under the well-established common law principle of nemo dat quod non habet (“no one can give what he does not have”), a purchaser acquires only the interest that the transferor was legally entitled to convey.[29] Consequently, where the root of title is defective because the purported vendor had no authority to dispose of the land, lacked the requisite interest, or the transaction was otherwise void, registration does not cure that defect or convert an invalid title into a valid one.³ Although Act 1036 and Ghana’s ongoing land digitisation initiatives have improved the efficiency and reliability of land registration, they cannot eliminate disputes founded on defective title.[30] Even a fully digitised land register cannot guarantee the validity of a title whose legal foundation is flawed. As a result, disputes concerning the root of title continue to be a significant source of land litigation in Ghana.

4.3  Possession, Equitable Interests and Competing Claims

Ghanaian land law recognizes that not all proprietary interests are immediately apparent from the land register. Rights may arise from customary allocations, long possession, equitable interests created through part performance of an otherwise unregistered transaction, or other interests recognized by law.[31] Consequently, the absence of registration does not necessarily mean that no underlying interest in land exists, although the legal effect of non-registration depends on the nature of the interest and the applicable provisions of the Act.[32] Where such interests conflict with a registered interest, the dispute often turns on questions of priority, validity and proof rather than on registration alone.[33]  While Act 1036 has strengthened the legal framework for land registration, it cannot by itself resolve competing claims whose existence depends on customary practices, equitable principles or factual possession. The effective resolution of these disputes therefore continues to depend on robust adjudicative mechanisms, including the courts and alternative dispute resolution processes established under the Act.[34]

  1. Assessing the Effectiveness of the Act 1036

5.1 Achievements of Act 1036

It would be inaccurate to characterize Act 1036 as ineffective. The consolidation of a fragmented body of land law into a single, coherent statute[35] is itself a significant achievement, reducing the interpretive uncertainty that previously arose from having to reconcile multiple, sometimes inconsistent, pieces of legislation. The codification of customary interests gives litigants and courts a clearer statutory vocabulary to work with.

The criminalization of land guards[36] has, at least, established an unambiguous legal basis for prosecuting a form of land-related violence that had previously operated in something of a grey area. The spousal property provisions close a long-standing gap, albeit statutory, in protection for spouses, particularly women,[37] who had often been left without a documented interest in land acquired during marriage. And the Act’s compulsory acquisition provisions bring greater procedural clarity, including notice and compensation requirements, to an area that had previously generated significant public grievance.

5.2 Implementation Challenges

Against these achievements, implementation has lagged. [38]Regulations necessary to operationalise several provisions of the Act took time to be developed, and institutions such as the Lands Commission continue to face resource constraints that limit how quickly the Act’s more ambitious provisions, particularly electronic conveyancing and the national land information system, can be realised nationwide.[39] Studies of stakeholder experience under the Act, including in the compulsory acquisition context, have found that while the Act provides clearer procedures on paper, delays in valuation, compensation processing, and inter-agency coordination persist in practice, reflecting institutional[40] capacity constraints rather than any deficiency in the statutory text itself.

5.3The Gap Between Law and Practice.

The overall picture that emerges is one in which Act 1036 has strengthened the legal framework considerably, without a commensurate strengthening of the administrative machinery required to give that framework practical effect. Legislative reform, in other words, has outpaced institutional reform and it is in that gap that most of contemporary Ghana’s land litigation continues to arise

6. Recommendations

6.1 Strengthening Land Administration and Registration.

The Lands Commission and allied institutions require sustained investment in staffing, technical capacity, funding, and digital infrastructure to support the implementation of the Land Act 2020 (Act 1036). Nationwide roll-out of title registration, prioritised digitisation of historic deeds and customary allocation records, and systematic data-cleaning to resolve conflicting entries should be pursued with clear public timelines. Strengthening land administration institutions should therefore be treated as a necessary companion to the Act, rather than an afterthought, to improve the reliability and accessibility of land records and public confidence in the registration system.

6.2 Public Education and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Sustained public education, particularly for prospective land purchasers outside the major cities, should reinforce the practical due diligence required before acquiring land, including searches at the Lands Commission, verification of a vendor’s authority, and independent survey confirmation of boundaries. At the same time, court-connected and customary Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms should be strengthened as less adversarial and potentially more efficient means of resolving land disputes and reducing pressure on the judiciary. Their effectiveness will, however, depend on adequately training ADR practitioners in the relevant substantive land law to ensure that settlements are legally sound and less vulnerable to subsequent challenge.

7. Conclusion

The Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) represents a genuine and, in many respects, overdue modernisation of Ghana’s land law. It consolidated a scattered body of legislation, gave statutory definition to customary interests that had previously existed only in case law, criminalised the violent self-help of land guards, and strengthened protections for spouses and other vulnerable interest-holders. Measured purely as an exercise in legislative drafting, it is a considerable achievement.

Yet the persistence of land litigation in Ghana in the years since the passage of Act 1036 demonstrates a broader truth about legal reform: a statute can reorganise rights and obligations, but it cannot, by itself, rebuild a land registry, resource an under-staffed Lands Commission, alter deeply embedded customary practices, or instill due diligence in every purchaser. The causes of Ghana’s land litigation crisis, including multiple sales, fraud, contested customary authority, chieftaincy disputes, family inheritance conflicts, incomplete records, and weak enforcement, are defining features of Ghana’s civil justice system.

 

[1] Ghana Business News, ‘Land Litigation Makes Up 52% of All Cases in Ghana Courts’ (23 November 2023) https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2023/11/23/land-litigation-makes-up-52-of-all-cases-in-ghana-courts/ accessed 3 July 2026.

[2]Land Act 2020 (Act 1036) (Ghana), s 282

[3] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), Preamble.

[4] Emmanuel K Dogbevi, ‘Land Litigation Makes Up 52% of All Cases in Ghana Courts’ Ghana Business News (23 November 2023) https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2023/11/23/land-litigation-makes-up-52-of-all-cases-in-ghana-courts/ accessed 10 July 2026; Legal Ink, ‘Approximately 90% of Ghanaian Court Cases Relate to Land Disputes’ Legal Ink (8 May 2024) https://www.legalinkonline.com/approximately-90-of-ghanaian-court-cases-relate-to-land-disputes/ accessed 10 July 2026.

[5] Adomako Anane v Nana Owusu Agyemang and 7 Others [2014] GHASC 126 (SC).

[6] ] Daniel Kontie, ‘The Construction and Real Estate Digest: Red Flags in the Property Market (3): Litigation as a Business Model – When Land Disputes Are Deliberately Engineered’ Business & Financial Times (11 May 2026) https://thebftonline.com/article/the-construction-and-real-estate-digest-with-daniel-kontie-red-flags-in-the-property-market-3-litigation-as-a-business-model-when-land-disputes-are-deliberately-engineered accessed 15 July 2026.

[7]  ‘Family Land Disputes in Ghana: How to Resolve’ (Legal Path Ghana, n.d.) accessed 14 October 2026.

[8]Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), Preamble.

[9] Land Act  2020(Act 1036), ss.282

[10] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), ss 13–20

[11]  Land Act 2020 (Act 1036) ss 1

[12]Land Act 2020 (Act 1036),ss 12

[13]Land Act 2020 (Act 1036),ss 74-79

[14]Land Act 2020(Act 1036) ss 12(2).

[15] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), ss 15(1)(d), 25(4), 50(15), 91(2), 98(1)-(2).

[16] Amuzu v Oklikah [1997–98] 1 GLR 89 (SC).

[17] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), ss 277

[18] Jibril Abdul Mumuni, ‘BoG Warns Banks over Fake Land Collateral’ Ghana News Agency (16 June 2026) https://gna.org.gh/2026/06/bog-warns-banks-over-fake-land-collateral/ accessed 15 July 2026

[19] Constitution of the Republic of Ghana 1992, arts 267, 270–277

[20]    Constitution of the Republic of Ghana 1992, art 267; Land Act 2020(Act 1036), ss 13, Edem Adotey, ‘Parallel or Dependent? The State, Chieftaincy and Institutions of Governance in Ghana’ (2019) 118(473) African Affairs 628.

[21] Constitution of the Republic of Ghana 1992, art 267; Kojo Sebastian Amanor, Land, Labour and Capital in Ghana (Springer 2021) ch 2.

[22] Chieftaincy Act 2008 (Act 759)what is this refernce ? Incomplete

[23] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), ss 13- 14

[24] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036) chs 5–6; Land Title Registration Law 1986 (PNDCL 152).

[25]Ghana Property Finder, ‘Land Litigation Laws in Ghana: Your 2025 Essential Guide’ (Ghana Property Finder, 2025) <https://ghanapropertyfinder.com/land-litigation-laws-in-ghana/> accessed 10 July 2026; Landmark Homes GH).

[26]Africa Continental Engineering & Construction Network, ‘Land Buying Checklist in Ghana: A Practical Due Diligence Guide for Safe Land Acquisition [Part 1]’ (ACECN, 2025) <https://www.acecnltd.com/land-buying-checklist-in-ghana-a-practical-due-diligence-guide-for-safe-land-acquisition-part-1/> accessed 10 July 2026.

[27] Numo Adjei Kwanko II v Lebanon Society and Others [2016] GHASC 24 (SC, 29 November 2016).

[28] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), ss 1-12

[29] B J da Rocha and C H K Lodoh, Ghana Land Law and Conveyancing (2nd edn, DR & L Printing 1999).

[30] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), pt V; Lands Commission, ‘Enterprise Land Information System (ELIS)’ https://landscommission.gov.gh/ accessed 20 July 2026.

[31] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), ss 13–20; B J da Rocha and C H K Lodoh, Ghana Land Law and Conveyancing (2nd edn, DR & L Printing 1999).

[32] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), ss 227(1-2)

[33] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), pt V; B J da Rocha and C H K Lodoh, Ghana Land Law and Conveyancing (2nd edn, DR & L Printing 1999).

[34] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), ss 98(1)–(2), 115; Alternative Dispute Resolution Act 2010 (Act 798).

[35] ¹ Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), long title.

[36] Land Act 2020, (Act 1036), ss 12

[37] Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), ss 38(3), 47

[38] Justice Osei Tutu, ‘Ghana’s Land Act: An Act Replete With Innovative Ideas Stuck In Implementation Gear’ (233Legal, 18 February 2026) https://233legal.com/ghanas-land-act-an-act-replete-with-innovative-ideas-stuck-in-implementation-gear/ accessed 15 September 2026.

[39]Owurotangba and others (n 10).

[40] Deborah Owurotangba, Joseph Kwaku Kidido, Kwabena Obeng Asiama and Mark Mwinbagbire Kutir, ‘The Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) and compulsory acquisition in Ghana: Stakeholders’ perspective’ (FIG Congress 2026, Cape Town, 24–29 May 2026).

BY; ADRIANA BLANKSON ESQ.

 

Disclaimer: This publication is for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. If you require information on any matter discussed in this article, kindly reach out to the firm directly.

 

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