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There is a long-standing debate about the relationship between land title registration and tenure security. Studies in the developing world point to a tenuous link between land registration and stable land tenure. The reason why people continue to register therefore becomes a mystery if tenure security is not entirely assured. This article focuses on the increase in property value as one such factor that induces title registration. Previous studies have quantified the economic impact of title registration on property values. However, the impact varies from city or country to another. The authors seek to investigate the extent of property value increment in Accra attributable to land title registration.

The authors statistically analyzed a data set from two institutions (First National Bank and the Lands Commission) in Ghana using a quantitative technique.

The authors discovered that, holding all other factors constant, the value of the land in Accra increases by 22.6% due to land title registration. This shows that lessees must register to enhance property values, even though the essential due diligence must be done to make sure the acquisition is free from liens and legal disputes.

This article highlights the implication of the findings for land administration as well as the practice of property valuation, development and brokerage in Ghana and Global South more broadly.

This is one of the first studies in Ghana to investigate the specific premium that housing markets put on land title registration.

This paper aims to propose a new framework for the management of a waqf land registration system in Malaysia that is compliant with Islamic law and the Malaysian legal system. The study sought to answer the following two research questions: what are the issues of the waqf land registration system and how to solve the issues of waqf land registration in Malaysia.

This study used a qualitative research method by using content analysis, legal investigation and doctrinal research. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with lawyers, academicians and executive officers from the Department of Land and Mines, the State Islamic Religious Council and reviewed documents mainly from the Department of Waqf, Zakat and Hajj Malaysia.

A new framework for the management of waqf land registration in Malaysia was identified, which was developed based on current waqf issues such as problematic registration methods, lengthy and complicated procedures, interference in the jurisdiction of the civil court and idle waqf land. The framework overcame the flaw of the previous waqf land registration system in Malaysia.

The new framework will provide solutions to the current registration system within the National Land Code, 1965, which will secure property in the future.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the argument linking land registration to agricultural investment and to provide theoretical reasons as to why this linkage may not materialise in Africa within the short to medium term.

The paper takes the form of a critical review of the relevant literature on land registration, access to credit and agricultural investment; arguments are built on empirical studies found in the literature and theoretical concepts.

It has been established in this paper that the links between landed property registration and agricultural investments are made defective in Africa by factors such as poverty, lack of appropriate agro‐based infrastructure and the fact that land registration per se does not improve the profitability of agriculture, neither does it improve access to credit.

The fact that this paper is based on literature review may be seen as a weakness to some extent.

Even though previous researchers have looked at the relationship between landed property registration and agricultural investment in the developing world, they fall short of critically explaining why land registration has been found not to enhance agricultural investment. This paper fills the gap through a combination of various theoretical and practical arguments which could call for a rethinking on the policies for promoting agricultural growth. The rigorous theoretical argument may also provide the basis for further empirical research.

The purpose of this paper is to review land/real estate registration practice in Hong Kong, and make an in-depth comparison with Mainland China and finally provide helpful suggestions for the government.

Research methods including document analysis/review and comparative study are used in this paper.

The main findings focus on the problems existing in the mainland, including narrow query subject, single way of query, limited query time, and lacking of incentive mechanism. Helpful suggestions for real estate registration system in Mainland China are offered based on the comparative study.

The unified registration system can improve the efficiency of administrative institutions to ensure an open and transparent environment of property right registration, which helps prevent the relevant departments from abusing administrative power and harming the interests of obligees. The findings of this research can serve as a useful reference for policy makers to improve the unified registration system in China.

The registration system/mechanism determines the efficiency and effectiveness of real estate/land market. However, land registration and query in some countries such as Mainland China have institutional problems which hinder the sustained and healthy development of the real estate industry. The value of this paper is to propose constructive suggestions for such countries/regions by comparing and learning from a good model.

The registration of land titles is an important component of title documentation and certification process that is influenced by a variety of factors. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to examine factors influencing land title registration practice in Osun State, Nigeria.

Data used for this paper were collected from 520 land title registration applicants, representing 48.10 per cent of the total number of applicants for land title/property rights registration in Osun State, Southwestern Nigeria, using systematic random sampling technique, with sampling interval k = 5. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, such as frequency distribution and percentages, relative importance index (RII) and factor analysis.

The findings revealed that factors such as high cost of title documentation and corrupt practices of land registry staff had significant influence on land title/property rights registration process, while factors such as suitability of organizational structure and personnel competence/low morale had less influence on land title registration in the study area.

The findings of this paper suggest the inadequacies inherent in the land title registration process in the study area which has significant implications for land titling registration process in Osun State, the entire Nigerian state and other emerging African economies.

The paper is one of the few papers that analyzed the factors influencing land title registration from the perspective of end-users in an emerging African economy like Nigeria.

The land sector in Ghana, particularly skin lands acquisition and title registration are fraught with several issues including unreliable record-keeping systems and land encroachments. The paper explores the potential of blockchain application in skin lands acquisition and title registration in Ghana with the aim of developing a blockchain-enabled framework for land acquisition. The purpose of this paper is to use the framework as a tool towards solving some of the loopholes in the process that leads to numerous issues bedeviling the current system.

The paper adopts a systematic literature review approach fused with informal discussions with key informants and leverages on the researchers’ own experiences to conceptualize blockchain application in skin lands acquisition in Ghana.

Problems bedeviling skin lands acquisition and title registration emanated from the issuance of allocation notes, payment of kola money and use of a physical ledger to document land transactions. As a result, the developed framework was designed to respond to these issues and deal with the problems. As the proposed blockchain framework would be a public register, it was argued that information on all transactions on a specific parcel of land could be available to the public in real-time. This enhances transparency and possibly resolves the issue of encroachments and indeterminate land boundaries because stakeholders can determine rightful owners of land parcels before initiating transactions.

Practically, blockchain technology has the potential to deal with the numerous issues affecting the smooth operation of skin lands acquisition and title registration in Ghana. Once the enumerated issues are resolved, there will be certainty of title to and ownership of land and property to drive investments because lenders could more easily ascertain owners of land parcels that could be used as collateral for securing loans. Similarly, property developers and land purchasers could easily identify rightful owners for land transactions. The government would be able to identify owners for land and property taxation.

This paper contributes to the literature on blockchain and application to land acquisition and title registration with a focus on a specific customary land ownership system.

The assertion that land registration guarantees landownership security is common knowledge. Thus, efforts at securing landownership in particularly, the developing world have concentrated on the formulation and implementation of land registration policies. However, over the years, whilst some studies claim that land registration assures security, a lot of other studies have established that security cannot be guaranteed by land registration. Also, there is evidence from research that has shown that land registration can be a source of ownership insecurity in some cases. The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the underpinning principles of land registration and their application in order to establish whether or not land registration can actually guarantee ownership security.

It is a literature review paper that looks at the existing literature on landownership, security and land registration systems. The land registration principles that have been subjected to critical analysis are the publicity function of land registration, the legality of ownership emanating from land registration and the warranty provided by the State in land registration, specifically, under the Torrens system.

An analysis of the underpinning principles of land registration shows that land registration per se cannot guarantee ownership security and this helps to explain the findings of the numerous studies, which have established that landownership security cannot be assured by land registration. The paper concludes by identifying the right role of land registration as well as a mechanism that can effectively protect or secure landownership.

Land registration policies and programmes in the developing world are often funded by the international donor community and the findings provide useful insights regarding the actual role of land registration and for policy change in terms of what can secure landownership.

Even though there are two schools of thought regarding research on the link between land registration on one hand, and landownership security on the other, none of the studies has made an attempt to consider the nexus by critically examining the principles that underpin land registration to support their arguments.

There is a longstanding argument that landed property market information management via land registration guarantees accessibility to loans from financial institutions for investment and wealth creation in developing economies. Thus, land registration has been prescribed as the solution to the problem of poverty and underdevelopment. The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the link that exists between land registration and access to investment loans from banks.

The study employed the qualitative research approach using empirical data from Ghana. Banks constituted the survey participants, and data were collected by administering a mainly open‐ended questionnaire to loans officers of 18 banks. The data was coded with the aid of Nvivo for analysis.

It has been established that: financial capability of potential mortgagors is the main criterion used by banks to grant investment loans; and land registration is not a prerequisite in mortgage transactions – it is a post‐requirement. These empirical findings are corroborated by the evidence adduced from a critical analysis of literature on the land registration system of a Western nation such as Britain.

To address the problem of poverty requires the implementation of policies and programmes that would empower the poor financially on a sustainable basis. Land registration per se cannot “unlock” investment capital.

Studies that have investigated the link between land registration and access to formal credit tend to focus on the demand side of the mortgage market. This paper, however, concentrates on the supply side by examining the prerequisites for investment loan applications. Such a study in Ghana is notably non‐existent and this is the first of its kind.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether title to land is secure in England and Wales when registered under the Land Registration Act 2002, in particular when a title is registered without the proprietor being able to establish good title under pre‐registration rules of property law.

This paper analyses reported judgments, with particular emphasis on the decision in Walker v. Burton [2012].

The paper identifies an uncertainty at the heart of the registration system: the uncertainty as to the extent to which a registered title may be rectified to remove the proprietor. This is acute when it appears that the registered proprietor has no claim to the land other than by reason of his registration. There may be a difference in this regard between intangible property titles and tangible titles.

The Land Registration Act 2002 is meant to replace registration of title with title by registration. The real force of this is only now being realised and there are few reported judgements, and less consistency, working out what this means in practice.