This note will discuss the nature and scope of the law of immovable property, the sources of law for the law of immovable property, and the meaning of land.
This note will briefly highlight the various interests in land that are recognised under the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036).
Allodial interest is one of the interests in land recognised under customary law and the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036). A person who has an allodial interest is said to have the allodial title. This note examines the meaning and nature of the allodial title, the incidents of an allodial title, and the entities that can hold the allodial title.
This note will discuss the various ways an allodial title can be acquired and lost. The ways to be discussed are pioneer discovery and settlement, conquest, purchase, and compulsory acquisition, among others.
Usufructuary interest is one of the interests in land recognised under customary law and the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036). This note examines the nature of usufructuary interest, the entities that can hold it, and its incidents.
This note will discuss five ways by which a person may acquire a usufruct.
This note will discuss the customary law freehold as one of the interests in land recognised in Ghana. In doing this, the note will highlight its meaning, salient characteristics, how it can be acquired, persons that cannot acquire it, limits on the creation of freehold interests, and the differences between the customary law freehold and the usufruct.
This note will discuss the meaning and characteristics of the leasehold interest, which is one of the interests in land.
This note will discuss how a leasehold interest is created, the statutory requirements to satisfy for the valid creation of a leasehold interest, and the exception to those requirements.
This note will discuss various types of leases. The types of leases will be discussed using the following classifications: A. Conformity to statutory requirements in their creation. B. Possibility of renewal, and C. When the lease takes effect.
A leasehold interest allows a person to occupy property. However, it is not the only means by which a person may occupy property. A person may occupy property not as a lessee, but as a service occupier, lodger, licensee, trespasser, squatter, or under a tenancy at sufferance or a tenancy at will. These are discussed in this note.
This note will discuss the various ways by which a lease would terminate. These are expiration of the lease or effluxion of time, notice, forfeiture, surrender, and merger.
A lease may relate to bare land or to premises. When a lease relates to premises, the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220), as amended by the Local Government Act, 1963, provides the processes for the recovery of possession of the premises from the tenant. This note will discuss the scope of Act 220 and the form of leases it applies to, the protection it affords tenants known as statutory tenants, and the various grounds upon which a court will order that a tenant be ejected from premises and possession restored to the landlord.
This note examines the concept of customary tenancies as a form of interest in land in Ghana. The note will explore how customary tenancies are defined, created, and terminated.
This note provides a brief introduction to family land management. It discusses the meaning of family, family land, common terms used in family land management. The note concludes with a brief outline of what family land management entails.
This note discusses the rules and principles that govern the appointment and removal of the head of the family
This note examines the circumstances under which a piece of land would be considered to belong to the family.
This note discusses the conditions that must be met for a valid alienation of family property
This note examines who can institute a suit for and on behalf of the family for the protection of family property.
This note will discuss the meaning of a stool and its status as a legal entity or a corporation sole, the meaning of stool land, and entities generally involved in the management of stool lands.
The management of stool lands is not an individual undertaking. It requires the concerted efforts and contributions of several entities, such as the occupant of the stool, stool elders, and bodies such as the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands, among others. This note will discuss these entities and the ways in which they contribute to the management of stool lands in Ghana.
This note will discuss the general rules regarding the alienation of stool property. The note will emphasise that the ideal form of alienation is one executed by the occupant of the stool with the consent and concurrence of his elders and councillors. The note will then discuss edge cases where the occupant of the stool alienates land with a minority of the elders and where the elders alienate land without the involvement of the occupant of the stool.
Discusses compulsory acquisition in Ghana in terms of the concept, pre-requisites for compulsory acquisition and some possible legal issues after compulsory acquisition.
This note will discuss the meaning of adverse possession, its statutory basis, its impact on the right to institute an action in court to recover land and on the title of the person entitled to institute such an action, and the exception created with respect to public lands.
Upon the dissolution of a marriage, there is often the issue of the distribution of property, especially those acquired during the marriage. This note examines how Ghanaian law has addressed this issue over time. It begins with the position under customary law, then considers the doctrine of substantial contribution, which was introduced to mitigate the harshness of the customary approach. Finally, it discusses the current position on the distribution of marital property: the principle that equality is equity.
This note examines the concept of co-ownership under land law. It explores the creation of co-ownership, the types of co-ownership and how they arise, their characteristics, and how co-ownership can be determined.
This note discusses the meaning of easement, its characteristics, how it is created, and how it is terminated especially in the Ghanaian context.