Buying safely
Land without a title: what a customary sale is worth
You are offered a fine plot at a good price, with a “sale certificate” signed before the neighbourhood chief. No land title, but “the procedure is under way”. It is one of the most expensive traps for buyers in the diaspora.
What the law says
The 1974 land tenure ordinance is clear. Any sale of a right over land must be made before a notary. And sales of land not registered in the seller’s name are “null and void as of right”.
In other words, a sale certificate, even signed by the chief and witnesses, does not make you the owner. At best, it proves you paid.
Papers that are not titles
- The customary sale certificate or “contract”.
- The certificate of surrender of customary rights, which the administration has no longer accepted since 2022.
- The attestations traditional chiefs have issued since April 2026 (recognition of customary rights, peaceful use): they record occupation or customary rights, not ownership.
- A registration file “in progress”: until the title is issued, objections are still possible.
Who can have customary land titled
Direct registration is reserved for customary communities, their members and any Cameroonian, provided they occupied or farmed the land peacefully before 5 August 1974. The procedure goes through the sub-prefecture, an advisory board, an official survey and public notice open to objections. The texts allow a few months; in practice it often takes much longer.
A buyer arriving today does not meet these conditions. It is up to the seller, if eligible, to have the land titled in their own name. In April 2022 the State even suspended direct registrations and land grants in 21 departments, including Wouri; they only resumed nationwide in September 2026.
How to buy anyway, without risking everything
The only safe route: the seller first has the land titled in their name, then sells it to you before a notary, with the title transferred to you, or subdivided if you are buying only part.
If you want to reserve the land beforehand, have the notary draft the commitment and check that it is valid, and leave the funds blocked with the notary rather than paying the seller. Never pay the full price on the strength of a certificate.
What we check
Before any money changes hands, we check whether a title already exists on the area, in whose name, and whether a registration procedure has really been started. Land presented as customary sometimes turns out to be titled already in someone else’s name. That is also how double sales begin.
Offered land without a title? Send us its exact location, the seller’s papers and a few photos. We’ll tell you what they are worth before you pay anything.
This article gives general information. It does not replace advice from a notary or a lawyer on your own file.
Manfred Gabriel Njoh
Founder of Henser Group, consultant in Douala since 2011. He follows each file himself, from the first visit to signing at the notary’s office.
