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LAND ACQUISITION FOR
INVESTMENT PURPOSES
FEATURES
OF THE TANZANIAN LAND LAW
Land
in Tanzania is a property of the State.
Ownership of the Land is vested in the President as a trustee
of the State. Therefore,
anyone using land in Tanzania must first obtain the President’s
authorization to do so. The
President still has the authority to affect the special use of land
under “Customary Law” because he can classify land categories.
The
second feature is that occupiers of land must prove to the President
(or his authorized officials) that they are using the land in a
prescribed manner; otherwise their right to use may be revoked.
Third,
foreigners are not supposed to own a right of land occupancy, their
use of land must be through a lease or derivative right, where a
Tanzanian person or entity holds the original right of occupancy.
GENERAL
PROCEDURES
The
Land Act No. 4 of 1999 is the basic Law for land in Tanzania other
than village land. It
also defines management of Land, settlement of disputes and related
matters. The Ministry of
Lands and Human Settlements is in charge of enforcement.
Public
land (land of Tanzania) falls in three categories:
Only
the President can grant right to occupy land, although village land
has already been granted by tradition.
The President however can transfer village land to another
category of Land subject to compensation.
To
occupy land in Tanzania, one must have either of two rights: the
granted or the deemed right of occupancy.
The granted right – is by President or his delegated
official. Deemed right
– title of a Tanzanian citizen, or community land occupied under
customary law.
Commissioner
for Lands (Presidential appointee) has the right to grant rights of
occupancy by official announcement in the Gazette.
He
is assisted by Land Allocation Committees (in the Ministry Districts
and urban levels) such that a local government authority (land
officer) can no longer make land allocations individually.
It is the Committee, which handles applications for land,
posting the names of successful applicants.
The
application is followed by either refusal or by a “letter of
offer” from the Land Allocation Committee.
Then
the applicant has to accept this letter of offer by signing on a
preset form” as a Letter of Offer. Then a Certification of Occupancy is issued in the name of
the President.
The
term of a granted right cannot exceed 99 years.
Once granted, the term cannot be later reduced without the
Agreement of the occupier. When the term expires, occupy can be given an opportunity to
renew the occupancy.
Minister
of Lands may require payment of a premium for the grant; determined by
several factors: declared use, value evidenced by previous sales,
leases, prices or bids offered in the vicinity, etc. or by a qualified
appraiser of Land’s value in the open market.
Premium
can be paid in installments, but there is also an annual rent liable
to revision every three years.
The
occupant before declares his intention to construct buildings, he must
first seek planning consent under Town and Country Planning Ordinance
and apply for a building permit, within six months of the grant of
occupancy, followed by inspection for land use.
LAND
ACQUISITION BY NON-CITIZENS
General
Principle
The
Act makes clear that non-citizens cannot obtain a right of occupancy,
unless for investment purposes covered by the Tanzania Investment Act,
that is unless the investment is registered at the Tanzania Investment
Centre (TIC).
TIC
is allocated the right of occupancy for the land, and only can then
issues “derivative rights” to the investor.
The
holder of a granted right of occupancy may lease to any person, and
subletting is possible. He
can mortgage that right as a security for a loan.
The
Role of TIC Regarding Investment Land
According
to the Land Act, land needed by a foreign investor is first allocated
to TIC, which can then issue derivative rights to that investor.
How long it takes, difficult to tell.
Section
6 of the Tanzania
Investment Act 1997 charges TIC to identify sites, estates or land for
investment purposes; through consultation with government institutions
and agencies.
TIC
has developed a Land Bank, with several land plots for potential
investment opportunities all over Tanzania; which are in various
stages of development. Priority
for surveying will be given to imminent users.
Regional
authorities, village governments, parastatals, private companies and
individuals who would like to use their land in joint venture with
investors in identified plots are allowed.
Application
for a Right of Occupancy
For
a foreign investor, TIC approval must accompany with the form.
He is then granted derivative rights of occupancy on Land Form
56. The whole process expected to take three to four weeks.
If the land is not surveyed and not part of the town planner
drawings, surveying is bound to take longer.
Furthermore,
if the land is under Customary Law, the Commissioner or its Authorised
agent has to request the current occupier’s vacate the land, within
180 days; before the applicant can have access to the land.
Survey
Process
The
process of granting a right of occupancy includes the survey of the
Land. In the case of land
for investment, the process must originate at the Ministry level, in
the Directorate of Surveys and Mapping.
Verification of the land earmarked for investment must be
corroborated by the respective technical ministry (Industry,
Agriculture, Tourism, etc.) through TIC.
After
these verifications, DOSM/Town Planner/Land Officer will issue survey
instructions to the surveyor.
Once
survey is complete, a report is submitted for further verification
before the Commissioner signs the Certificate of Occupancy.
Property
Taxes
They
are assessed based on two types of valuation
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