The answer is Yes. Lots of foreigners own landed properties in Cameroon already. If you are a foreigner and you are interested in owning land in Cameroon, we have the legal authorization to facilitate your acquisition. Cameroon does not have laws that prohibit, limit, or condition foreign investment in any sector of the economy.
Land ownership in Cameroon according to the law gives you the rights to exclusive possession and use of your land, the right to mortgage the land, and the right to transfer the land. All ownership rights in land must be registered. Most land privately-owned, registered land is in urban areas. Large commercial farms are also usually registered.
Land ownership in Cameroon is only guaranteed by getting a land title, which is the official certification of ownership. As such sales or purchases must be with those that own.
The process of obtaining a land certificate includes an administrative phase relating to the assessment of land occupation and development, a technical phase relating to the physical description of the land, and a legal phase that analyzes the conditions of access to a property right. The main actors are the Department of Surveys for the technical phase, the Department of State Property and the Department of Land Tenure for the legal phase and the Ministry of Territorial Administration for assessments.
Laws and Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment
Law No. 2013/004 of 18 April 2013 outlines incentives for private investment in Cameroon and makes explicit the government’s stated commitment to protecting investors’ rights. The law is valid for domestic as well as foreign investors. Additional laws and regulations are available on the website of Cameroon’s Ministry of Finance http://www.minfi.gov.cm. Cameroon’s Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) offers a one-stop-shop website for investment, with relevant laws, rules, procedures, and reporting requirements for investors.
How can a foreigner Purchase Landed property In Cameroon?
To make it easier you will need to get in touch with a property management company like us or a real estate agent to help you find a suitable property, once this part is done you will have to verify the ownership of the property in question through a notary who will make sure that the property legally belongs to the claimed owner and then proceed with the agreement between you and the seller.
This is cumbersome and that’s why Micaso Real Estate Enterprise comes in with a one-stop shop that enables to know the available properties as well as do the thorough verification and paperwork for the transaction for you. We even go as far as managing the property for our foreign clients who are too busy with other things. We help them lease out the property or just maintain it in a good state for whenever they need to use it.
Cameroon has a series of laws in place when it comes to land which should guide a foreigner wishing to purchase land and other properties in Cameroon. These laws created a tenure system based on land registration stipulating that all privately-owned land must be registered and titled to retain its character as private land. All unregistered land is deemed to be either public land, which is held by the state on behalf of the public or ―national land, which includes unoccupied land and land held under customary law. The laws were intended to encourage foreign investment in Cameroon as they effectively clarified private property rights and made all unregistered land available for investment.
After more than 30 years since the law on the registration of land came in, only an estimated 125,000 land titles are registered. This calls for thorough investigations before any investments on properties is made as there is an upsurge in people selling land they are not permitted to sell like government and village lands. Our team over the years has succeeded to do over 60 verification for foreign investors and prevented a good number of investors from purchasing illegal land and fraudulent land sales.
The acquisition of private land in Cameroon by foreigners
The acquisition of real estate in Cameroon by a foreigner is done by several ways, but the case that interests us here is the acquisition of real estate belonging to a private person. It should be noted that the acquisition of land by direct registration is reserved only for people of Cameroonian nationality.
In simple terms, the acquisition of land belonging to a private person simply means buying a piece of land that already has a land title in the name of the seller, and naturally, the sale is done with the help of a notary.
A foreigner can buy land in Cameroon, and it is the same procedure for acquiring land by a Cameroonian. In addition, the foreigner who is the seller or the buyer also needs the deed of sale drawn up by the notary and must first obtain a prior visa from the Minister of State Property, Surveys, and Land Tenure
Must you be physically Present For The Purchase of Landed Properties?
Property purchase doesn’t require you in person even though it would be a good approach. Investors can acquire lands or buildings by working with property management companies like us to facilitate the purchase and even manage the property on your behalf. Our complete team of lawyers, architects, technician, and analyst ensure a smooth process of sale or purchase
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