By Marlon Bute – Entrepreneur, construction worker, writer
In the first part of this series, we looked at the importance of due diligence and why verifying land title is essential before making any purchase, lease, or investment. We explored how a deed without clear title is not protection, but a potential trap.
In this second part, we take the conversation further by looking at possessory title — what it is, how it works, and how it can help ordinary people who have lived on and cared for land over many years to finally secure proper, legal ownership.
So what exactly is possessory title?
It’s the legal process by which someone who has been living on or using a piece of land for a long time without challenge can apply to be recognised as the lawful owner of that land.
Say you’ve been living on a piece of land for years. You built a house. You fenced it. You planted crops. You paid the taxes. But your name isn’t on a deed. The original owner may have died. The records may be missing. And still, no one has challenged you, and you’ve used the land openly all this time. That’s where possessory title comes in.
It allows you to go to the court and say: I don’t have a deed, but based on long-term occupation, I should be recognised as the rightful owner.
But even if no one is challenging your claim, you still must prove it.
The court does not simply accept your word or the passage of time. You must submit evidence to demonstrate that your occupation was open, peaceful, continuous, and without permission. That could include tax receipts, utility bills, photographs, sworn statements from neighbors, or other records that show you treated the land as your own. An unchallenged application does not mean an automatic approval.
And why is this important?
Because real ownership gives you power. It gives you the ability to lease, sell, develop, pass it on to your children, or simply enjoy it without fear. Without proper title, you are always exposed. You could lose the land. You may not be able to access a loan. And if you try to sell or lease it, you might be putting yourself and others at risk.
What if someone does challenge your claim?
If someone steps forward and claims the land — especially with a deed or other documentation — the matter becomes a legal dispute. At that point, your burden of proof becomes even heavier. You’ll need to show evidence that not only have you been there, but that your use of the land has been exclusive and uninterrupted for the required time period. Bring witnesses. Present documents. Show the court that you’ve acted as the owner.
Sometimes, you may also need to defend yourself against claims that the person who gave or sold you the land had no right to do so. In law, you can’t give what you don’t have. If someone didn’t legally own the land, they couldn’t legally pass it on to you.
A receipt is not enough. Belief is not enough. And truthfully, it’s unreasonable to base ownership of land on belief alone. Land is too valuable, too important, to be left to assumptions or hearsay. You don’t believe you own land. You prove it.
That means checking records, tracing ownership, and having documents that stand up to scrutiny. Because if your title cannot survive a challenge, then your claim is on shaky ground.
And even a deed isn’t always conclusive.
A deed is only as good as the title it’s built on. As we discussed last week, if the deed came from someone whose own title wasn’t clear, then your claim may still be in doubt.
That’s why root title matters — a proper, traceable history of ownership going back far enough to satisfy the court. In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, that means showing a continuous and unbroken chain of ownership going back 60 years. If there’s a break in that chain, if the title was never perfected, or if the land was passed informally from one generation to the next, then the deed you’re holding may not be legally secure, even if it has been accepted for years.
So the message is simple: whether you’ve been on the land for decades, or you recently bought it, make sure your title is clean, legal, and defensible.
Do not try to sell or lease land unless you are sure you own it. And do not buy land unless you are sure the seller has proper title. No matter how genuine they seem, no matter how good the price sounds, check the title.
Because land matters. Title matters. And in the end, what’s on paper is what protects what’s on the ground.
In Part 3 of this series, we turn from the legal to the personal. We’ll look at real-life stories — people who’ve lived the reality of unclear land titles. Some lost everything. Others fought and won. Their experiences show just how deeply land issues affect lives, families, and futures.
