Cap 501 PDF

LAWS OF GUYANA
DEEDS REGISTRY ACT
CHAPTER 5:01
Act
17of 1919
Amended by
19 of 1927 16 of 1965
44 of 1929 24 of 1969
2 of 1931 22 of 1970
11 of 1934 4 of 1972
4 of 1936 14 of 1982
14 of 1938 2 of 1993
5 of 2014
32 of 1956 O. 166/1974
27 of 1957
Current Authorised Pages

Pages Authorised
(inclusive) by L.R.O.
1 – 47 ... 1/2012
LAWS OF GUYANA
Deeds Registry Cap. 5:01 2
Index
of
Subsidiary Legislation
This Chapter contains no subsidiary legislation.
Note on
Revision
The items of subsidiary legislation made under this Act, while still in force were at the time of
this publication about to be revised in whole or in part, consequently those items are excluded
from this publication.
Note
on
Repeal
This Act repealed Ordinance (7 of 1913).

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3 Cap. 5:01 Deeds Registry
CHAPTER 5:01
DEEDS REGISTRY ACT
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Appointment of officers.
4. Duties of officers of staff generally.
5. Appointment of acting officers.
6. When Registrar is temporarily absent from the Deeds Registry, a
first class clerk shall have the duties and powers of the Registrar.
7. Duties of the Registrar.
8. Validity of existing records.
9. Rules and regulations.
10. Proof required under oath.
11. Allowance of access to records on payment of fees.
12. Transports and mortgages to be executed before a judge.
13. Leases.
14. Execution and custody of transports.
15. Cancellation of mortgage.
16. Transports, etc., executed before the Registrar.
16A. Requirement of certificate before passing of transport or long lease.
17. Mode of executing and depositing or recording transfer of mortgage
or other document.
18. Effect of deposit or record of transfer of mortgage or other
document.
19. Form of special power of attorney.
20. Proof of execution of document.
21. Cancellation of grant or transport.
22. Absolute title by transport subject to certain claims and rights.
22A. Prohibitions.
23. Amendment of errors in deeds.
24. Mode of dealing with error in record.
25. Partition of mortgaged property.
26. (1) Payment by debtors to be written off.
(2) Insolvents.
27. Substitution of judicial sale transport for letters of decree and
procedure to obtain.
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SECTION
28. Provisions relating to sales in execution of immovables.
29. Property vested by a judicial sale transport.
30. Order of distribution of proceeds of sale in execution.
31. Summons to decide mode of distribution.
32. Preservation of rights and liabilities where transport is passed or
sale made subject to registered incumbrance.
33. Application of Act.
34. Priority of payment of debts.
35. Registration of property acquired from deceased persons or
others.
36. Appeal from Registrar or Judge.
37. Registration of property acquired by expropriation.
38. (1) Application under section 35 or 37. (2) Showing cause.
(3) Order for registration.
39. Registered mortgage to subsist, subject to terms of order.
40. Payment of fees on registration.
41. Form of registration.
42. When amount due payable in case of absence to Public Trustee.
43. Concealment or suppression of documents or facts.
44. Fees.
45. Affidavit or declaration as to consideration for conveyance.
46. Forms.
FIRST SCHEDULE—Duties of Assistant Sworn Clerks.

SECOND SCHEDULE—The Deeds Registry Rules.
THIRD SCHEDULE—Forms.
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1929 Ed.
CHAPTER 5:01
c. 177
1953 Ed. DEEDS REGISTRY ACT
c. 32
17of 1919 An Act to regulate the Office of the Registrar of Deeds of

Guyana and to amend the law relating to the execution
and registration of Transports, Mortgages and other
Deeds.
[1st JANUARY, 1920]
Short title. 1. This Act may be cited as the Deeds Registry Act.
Interpretation. 2. In this Act—
‚the Court‛ means the High Court or a judge thereof;
‚deed‛ includes not only instruments so called according to

the common law, but also instruments known in Guyana
c. 82:01 as Acts, and bonds given under the Customs Act;
‚judicial sale transport‛ means a transport passed by the

officer of the Court under section 27;
‚registered incumbrances‛ means all mortgages and charges

registered under this Act;
‚registered interests‛ means and includes all liabilities, rights,

interests, and special conditions, imposed or attached to
immovable property by agreement or otherwise which
have been registered under this Act;
‚registered leases‛ means all leases registered under this Act;
‚the Registrar‛ means the Registrar of Deeds;
‚the registry‛ means the deeds registry;

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‚statutory claims‛ means unpaid charges or liens imposed by

the laws of Guyana in favour of the State, unpaid rates,
taxes or assessments imposed by or levied under the
authority of any Act, and other liens or charges imposed
by, or in pursuance of, or levied under any Act.
Appointment 3. (1) A Registrar of Deeds, a Deputy Registrar of
of officers.
Deeds (hereinafter called the Deputy Registrar) and the
[44 of 1929
16 of 1965 necessary number of notaries public, assistant sworn clerks,
2 of 1993] clerks and other officers may be appointed for the staff of the
registry:
Provided that no person shall be appointed a notary

public or to act as a notary public until he has been examined
by and obtained a certificate of competency from an
examining board, consisting of the Attorney-General, the
Registrar, and the State Solicitor or of any two of them, who
are hereby empowered and required to hold an examination
whenever necessary.
(2) The Registrar and the Deputy Registrar shall be

deemed to be ex officio notaries public.
(3) Anything in subsection (1) to the contrary

notwithstanding a person who-
(a) is an attorney-at-law and who within

a period of five years prior to his
qualifying as such has had at least one
year’s experience as an assistant
sworn clerk in the deeds registry; or
(b) is an attorney-at-law of not less than

one year’s standing, may be
appointed a notary public for such
time as he may hold a public office in
the deeds registry.
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(4) For the purpose of subsection (3) ‚attorney-at-

law‛ means any person whose name is enrolled on the Court
c. 4:01 Roll in accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act;
Duties of 4. (1) Except where otherwise specially provided, the

officers of
Deputy Registrar and each notary public may lawfully do and
staff generally.
[44 of 1929 perform, subject to the directions and instructions of the
2 of 1993] Registrar, all or any of the duties and services which the
Registrar is authorised to do and perform by this Act or by
any other Act now in force, and may lawfully demand and
receive on behalf of the registry the fees in respect of those
duties and services.
(2) Except where otherwise specially provided,

each assistant sworn clerk may lawfully do and perform,
subject to the directions and instructions of the Registrar, all
and any of the duties and services mentioned in the First
First Schedule. Schedule, in the same manner to all intents and purposes as if
he were a notary public, and may lawfully demand and
receive on behalf of the registry the fees in respect of those
duties and services.
(3) Each and every member of the staff shall

likewise perform all duties, other than as assistant sworn
clerk, from time to time assigned to him by the Registrar.
Appointment 5. During the temporary absences of the Registrar

of acting from the deeds registry for any cause the Deputy Registrar
officers. may do any act or thing which may lawfully be done by the
[44 of 1929]
Registrar.
When Registrar 6. During the temporary absences of the Registrar

is temporarily from the deeds registry an officer being a first class clerk or
absent from the
deeds
notary public may do any act or thing which may lawfully be
registry, a first done by the Registrar:
class clerk
shall have the Provided that this section shall not authorise the officer
duties and
powers of the
Registrar. (a) to pass or execute any transport, mortgage,
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[11 of 1934 cancelment of mortgage, lease or other

2 of 1993]
document which may be passed and
executed by the Registrar, or
(b) to do any act or thing which the Registrar

may in writing from time to time direct shall
not be done by an officer aforesaid.
Duties of the 7. The registry shall be under the charge of the

Registrar.
Registrar, whose duties, subject to the special provisions of
[5 of 2014]
this Act and the rules made under it or of any other law, shall
be—
(a) to take charge of and preserve the records of

the Registrar of the Supreme Court as
constituted by Act, including all the records
of the conveyancing branch, but not the
judicial records of the Court;
(b) to examine, certify, and register conveyances

or transports and leases of immovable
property, and of any other property the
transfer of which is required by the law of
Guyana to be made under this Act, and to
register declarations of title granted by the
Court;
(c) to examine, certify, and register mortgage

bonds hypothecating immovable or other
property aforesaid, and any transfer or
cancellation thereof;
(d) to examine and check and to satisfy himself

as to the sufficiency of, all titles tendered in
support of any conveyance or transport,
transfer, mortgage, lease, or any other
transaction provided for in this Act;
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(e) to examine all descriptions of property dealt

with (descriptions which shall be definitely
and clearly set out, especially with regard to
locality, boundaries, area, and conditions or
limitations attached thereto, and have
reference, if the Court or the Registrar so
requires, to a diagram or chart thereof on
record in the Lands Department or in the
registry), and to do everything necessary to
obtain a full and complete identification of
the property or rights therein forming the
subject of the transaction;
(f) to register or record contracts, notarial

bonds, notarial or other deeds, donations,
security bonds, substitutions, renunciations,
deliberations, inventories, powers of
attorney, protests, leases, and cessions and
assignments thereof, charts, and diagrams,
prohibitions in respect of written agreements
of sale of immovable property and all other
documents which he accepts as proper for
registration or record;
(g) on the consent of the parties concerned, to

cancel in whole or in part, any registered
bond, deed, or document, other than a
transport, lease, or mortgage, or to release
from the operation of the bond the whole or
any part of the property or things thereby
specially hypothecated or bound;
(h) to register or record cessions or assignments

of any mortgage bond;
(i) to register, annotate, or record against any

property registered in the registry, any lease,
servitude, prohibition in respect of a written
agreement of sale of immovable property, or
incumbrance contained in any State title, or
in a transport, or other duly recorded deed,
or authorised by order of the Court;
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(j) to make all endorsements and annotations

on any registered title or other deed or
instrument filed as of record in the registry
necessary to give the effect to registration
thereof;
(k) to keep all registers, including land, mortgage

and prohibitions in respect of written
agreements of sale of immovable property,
registers, requisite for the due performance
by him of any of his duties aforesaid and
for the establishment of an efficient system
of registration calculated to furnish security
of title and an easy reference thereto;
(l) to keep a register of all orders of court

served upon him affecting the transfer of
rights registered in the registry;
(m) to make a weekly return to the

Commissioner of Lands of all transports,
mortgages, or leases, of lands held under
title from the State, passed under this Act;
(n) to permit members of the public, upon

payment of the prescribed fees, to have any
inspection of records and to obtain from the
registry any copies of and information
concerning them allowed by law, or rule, or
regulation under this Act;
(o) generally, to exercise all powers and

discharge all duties, including the drawing
of any instrument or document
aforementioned or any other document, by
law and custom exercised by and required
of and from the Registrar of the Supreme
Court.
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Validity of 8. The books of registers or records heretofore and at

existing
present existing in the office of the Registrar of the Supreme
records.
Court or any branch thereof shall be considered and taken to
be, as they are hereby declared to be, valid and legal records,
and all authenticated copies thereof, or extracts therefrom,
shall be taken and received in the courts of Guyana as prima
facie evidence, which, if not rebutted, shall be as good
evidence as the originals of which those records purport to be
records.
Rules and 9. (1) The Chancellor may from time to time make
regulations. rules and regulations for the good order and management of
[2 of 1931] the registry, for the carrying into effect the object for which it
is established, and generally for its working and the
preservation of the records therein, and more especially to
prescribe—
(a) the method whereby transports, titles,

transfers, and other deeds, diagrams,
charts, and documents required to be
registered or preserved of record, or
used in the registry, shall be prepared,
passed and executed;
(b) the manner and form in which any

information required by law to be
furnished to the Registrar shall be
recorded or noted in the registry;
(c) the conditions under which copies of

lost or damaged transports, deeds,
bonds, or other documents may be
issued;
(d) the manner and form in which

consent to the cancellation of bonds or
other deeds shall be signified;
but no rules and regulations made under this section

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shall be of any force or effect unless and until they are

published in the Gazette and in some newspaper circulating in
Guyana for three successive Saturdays.
(2) All rules and regulations made in pursuance

of this section shall be laid before the National Assembly at
the first Session thereof after they have been made.
(3) Until those rules shall have been made, the
Second
rules contained in the Second Schedule shall be in force and
Schedule
shall apply to all proceedings under this Act.
Proof required 10. (1) The Registrar may require, and any person
under oath. may tender, proof under oath of any material fact which the
[2 of 1993]
Registrar considers necessary to be established in connection
with any matter or thing sought to be done in the registry,
and the oath may be administered and the fact sworn before
any notary public or assistant sworn clerk.
(2) Anyone who makes the statement under

oath or affirmation knowing it to be untrue in any material
particular shall be deemed to be guilty of perjury, and shall,
upon conviction, undergo the punishment by law provided
therefor.
Allowance of 11. (1) Anyone may, upon payment of the prescribed

access to
fees, ask for and obtain access to each and every register or
records on
payment record in the registry and obtain copies thereof or of any part
of fees. or portion thereof.
(2) No one shall be allowed access to any register

or record except in the presence of the Registrar or someone
belonging to the registry thereto duly authorised.
(3) The fees payable for any search or inspection

or copies shall be paid in advance.
Transports and 12. (1) No person in whom the title to any immovable
mortgages to
property situate in Guyana vests may transfer or mortgage
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be executed that property except by passing and executing a transport or

before a judge.
mortgage thereof before the Court.
(2) Movable property may be mortgaged in the

same way as immovable property.
(3) All transports and mortgages passed after the

commencement of this Act shall be registered by the Registrar
and filed as of record in the registry.
Leases. 13. (1) No lease of immovable property expressed to

be for a term of twenty-one years or more, or for any term
renewable at the will of the lessee indefinitely, or for periods
which, together with the first term thereof, amount in all to
twenty-one years or more, (herein referred to as a ‚long
lease‛), and no surrender, transfer, or assignment of a long
lease having a term expressed to be of twenty-one years or
more to run at the time of surrender, transfer, or assignment,
shall, as against any bona fide transferee of the property for
value, be good, valid, or effectual in law or pleadable in any
court of justice in Guyana unless passed and executed before
the Court in like manner as a transport and filed as of record
in the registry.
(2) No lease of any immovable property, or any

surrender, transfer, or assignment thereof, shall, as against
any bona fide transferee of the property for valuable
consideration be good, valid, or effectual in law or pleadable
in any court of justice in Guyana unless filed as of record in
the registry.
(3) Every long lease and every surrender,

transfer, or assignment thereof, mentioned in subsection (1),
passed and executed before the Court and filed as of record in
the registry as aforesaid shall be annotated by the Registrar
against the property leased.
(4) Every lease, or surrender, transfer, or

assignment thereof filed as of record in the registry in
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accordance with subsection (2) shall be annotated by the

Registrar against the property affected as the circumstances
require, and the Registrar shall without delay give notice in
writing to the person filing the lease, surrender, transfer, or
assignment, of the entry made by him in respect thereof:
Provided that this section shall not apply to leases by the

President of State lands, and that no lease of any interest in
State lands shall be required to be executed before the Court
or to be filed as in this section aforementioned.
Execution and 14. Any transport, mortgage, lease, or other
custody of document, required to be passed and executed before the
transports.
Court, shall be passed and executed at any place within
Guyana the Court sees fit:
Provided that the original of any transport, mortgage,

lease, or other document relating to land or property situate
in any county other than Demerara shall be kept and
preserved in the branch (if any) of the registry established in
that county.
Cancellation of 15. (1) No cancellation of mortgage shall be of any

mortgage.
force or effect, or be in any way pleadable or allowed to be
[27 of 1957
4 of 1972 pleaded in any court of justice in Guyana, unless it is executed
2 of 1993] before the Court or a notary public and filed as of record in
the registry.
(2) Where a mortgagee is under any disability

or is absent from Guyana or his whereabouts are unknown,
and there is no person authorised to execute the deed of
cancellation of a mortgage, the Registrar may, if he is satisfied
that the mortgage debt has been fully paid, cancel the said
mortgage in the register, and such cancellation shall have the
same force and effect as if a cancellation of the mortgage had
been executed and registered as hereinbefore provided.
Transports, etc. 16. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this or

executed any other Act but subject to this Act, every transport,
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before the mortgage, cancelment of mortgage, lease or other document

Registrar.
which is required by law to be passed and executed before the
[2 of 1931
32 of 1956] Court may be passed and executed before the Registrar.
(2) Every transport, mortgage, cancelment of

mortgage, lease or other document passed and executed
before the Registrar shall have the same validity, force and
effect as if passed and executed before the Court.
(3) Whenever the Registrar is required to pass

and execute a transport (other than a judicial transport),
mortgage, cancelment of mortgage, lease or other document
he shall do so before the Court.
(4) The jurisdiction conferred on the Registrar by

this section shall be exercised only by the Registrar or by the
Deputy Registrar.
(5) The Registrar may appoint such days and hours

for exercising the jurisdiction so conferred on him as he
deems fit and necessary.
(6) Wherever in this Act or in any other Act or in

any rules or regulations reference is made to any transport,
mortgage, cancelment of mortgage, lease or other document
to be passed and executed or passed and executed before the
Court or a Judge such reference shall be deemed to apply to
any such document passed and executed before the Registrar.
(7) Wherever in the forms in the Second Schedule

the words ‚Chief Justice,‛ ‚Puisne Judge,‛ or ‚Judge‛ occur,
the word ‚Registrar‛ shall be substituted in cases where the
passing and execution of the transport, mortgage, cancelment
of mortgage, lease or other document has taken place before
the Registrar.
Requirement of 16A. There shall not be passed and executed before

certificate
the Registrar—
before passing
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of transport or (i) the transport of a gift or voluntary sale of

‘long lease’.
immovable property; and
[14 of 1982]
(ii) the lease of immovable property to which

section 13 applies, or any transfer or
assignment thereof unless,
in relation to the property referred to in paragraph (i) the

donor or vendor, as the case may be, and in relation to the
property referred to in paragraph (ii) the lessor, or transferor
or assignor, as the case may be, presents to the Registrar—
(a) a certificate of the Commissioner

General of the Revenue Authority
appointed under the Revenue
c. 79:04 Authority Act (hereinafter referred to
s.8 (13 of 1996) as the Commissioner) stating that he
has in accordance with section 60 of
c. 81:01 the Income Tax Act delivered to the
Commissioner all his returns,
including the return for the preceding
year of income, and has paid all taxes
due and payable to the Commissioner
by him or has made arrangements to
the satisfaction of the Commissioner
for the payment of all such taxes that
are due and payable; and
(b) a certificate from such officer of the

local democratic organ, within the
boundaries of which such immovable
property is situated, as may be
authorised by that local democratic
organ in that behalf stating that the
donor, vendor, lessor, transferor or
assignor, as the case may be, has paid
or made arrangements to the
satisfaction of that officer for the
payment of all rates and other sums
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due and payable by him in respect of

such immovable property.
Mode of 17. (1) No transfer or assignment of any agreement,
executing and contract, instrument, or cause of action whatsoever, creating
depositing or
an interest in any immovable property in Guyana, or whereby
recording
transfer of that immovable property may be in any way affected in law
mortgage or or in equity already entered into and executed in Guyana by
other anyone whomsoever, to and in favour of anyone
document.
whomsoever, whether for valuable consideration or not, on
and subsequent to the 16th February, 1845, or which is
hereafter executed, and no donation inter vivos, act of division
of an inheritance, or other instrument, whereby the interests
of creditors or third parties may be affected, already or
hereafter to be executed, shall be good, valid and effectual in
law or be in any way pleadable or allowed to be pleaded in
any court of justice in Guyana, unless the instrument is signed
and executed in the presence of two witnesses, and until the
instrument as well as the mortgage, agreement, contract, or
instrument evidencing the cause of action, is duly proved and
filed as of record in the registry.
(2) No transfer or assignment of any mortgage

shall be in any way pleadable or allowed to be pleaded in any
court of justice in Guyana unless it is filed as of record in the
registry:
Provided that this section shall not affect any instrument

aforesaid duly executed and deposited or recorded in
accordance with the requirements of any law or laws in force
in Guyana at the time of the execution thereof.
Effect of 18. As soon as any transfer or assignment of any

deposit or
mortgage, agreement, contract, instrument, or cause of action
record of
transfer of aforesaid is filed as of record as hereinbefore provided, it
mortgage or shall be held to be prima facie valid and effectual as conveying
other to the transferee or assignee all right, title, and interest in and
document.
to the mortgage, agreement, contract, instrument, or cause of
action theretofore possessed by the transferor or assignor and
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expressed to be thereby transferred or assigned, subject,

nevertheless, to the right of any person interested disputing
the validity of the transfer or assignment.
Form of special 19. A special power of attorney providing for the
power of
passing of a transport, mortgage, or lease, or for the
attorney.
cancellation of a mortgage only and for no other purpose
shall be in the form and be executed in the manner prescribed
by the rules made under this Act.
Proof of 20. (1) Except as provided by any Act, every

execution of instrument or document filed as of record or recorded in the
document.
registry, if it is executed in Guyana, shall, before it is so filed
or recorded, be verified and proved by the affidavit or
declaration of one at least of the subscribing witnesses, to
have been duly signed and executed.
(2) Whenever it appears to the Registrar that all the

subscribing witnesses are either dead or absent from Guyana,
the person wishing to file or record the instrument or
document may produce evidence by affidavit of the signature
of any one or more of the subscribing or attesting witnesses,
or of the party who has signed or executed the instrument,
and the Registrar shall receive that affidavit in the place and
stead of an affidavit by a subscribing or an attesting witness
himself.
(3) The due execution of every instrument or

document filed as of record or recorded in the registry, if
executed beyond the limits of Guyana shall, before it is filed
or recorded, be proved in accordance with the provisions of
the Evidence Act dealing with the proof of public and private
documents.
Cancellation of 21. The Registrar may not cancel any title to

grant or immovable property or any transport except upon an order of
transport.
the Court.
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22. (1) From and after the 1st January, 1920, every transport of
immovable property other than a judicial sale transport shall vest in
the transferee the full and absolute title to the immovable property
or to the rights and interest therein described in that transport,
subject to—
(a) statutory claims;
(b) registered incumbrances;
(c) registered interests registered before the date of the last

advertisement of the transport in the Gazette;
(d) registered leases registered before the date of the last

advertisement of the transport in the Gazette
Provided that any transport, whether passed before or after the 1st
January, 1920, obtained by fraud shall be liable in the hands of all
parties or privies to the fraud to be declared void by the Court in
any action brought within twelve months after the discovery of the
fraud, or from the 1st October, 1925, whichever is the more recent.
(2) A transport, letters of decree, or a declaration of title

issued under section 4 (1) of the Civil Law of British Guiana
Ordinance, Cap. 7, 1953 Ed., passed or issued before the 1st January,
1920, and in force at that date shall, after the expiration of two years
from that date if still in force, vest in the transferee or grantee thereof
the full and absolute title to the immovable property or to the rights
and interest therein described, subject to the provisions contained in
paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d), of the preceding subsection.
Prohibition 22A (1) For the prevention of any detail with any immovable
[5 of 2014]
property, that is the subject of a written agreement of sale without
prior notice to the purchaser, any purchaser, his assignee or successor
claiming to be entitled to the conveyance of immovable property
under the said agreement of sale, may lodge the following with the
Registrar-
(a) a prohibition in Form 3 in the Third Schedule to this Act

verified by a Statutory Declaration; and
(b) a copy of the written agreement of sale.

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(2) For the purposes of lodging a prohibition, a
written agreement of sale shall –
(a) be valid and subsisting;
(b) specified that the purchaser has paid a deposit of at

least ten percent of the purchase price;
(c) specify a time for completion and passing of

transport; and
(d) be lodged within the period specified in the

agreement for the completion and passing of the
transport.
(3) The Registrar shall not accept a prohibition

unless it identifies an address for service in
Guyana.
(4) Upon lodgement of any prohibition, the Registrar

shall-
(a) enter a memorial in a register kept for that purpose;
(b) annotate same on the original grosse; and
(c) give notice within seven days of the lodgement of

the prohibition to the vendor of the land affected.
(5) A prohibition may be removed from the register with

the consent of the prohibitor in the form of an affidavit sworn to
by the prohibitor by order of the Court.
(6) Upon the application of the owner of any land
affected by a prohibition, the Court may summon the prohibitor
to attend before the Court to show cause why the prohibition
should not be removed and the Court may thereupon make such
order including an orderremoving the prohibition and as to cost
as the Court thinks fit.
(7) If instruments or documents in the appropriate form
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intending to effect another conveyance, mortgage or charge on

the land which is the subject of a prohibition are presented for
filing in the Registry, the Registrar shall –
(a) give notice to the prohibitor; and
(b) suspend processing of the documents for eight

weeks from the date of the notice.
(8) At the expiration of the period mentioned in subsection (7)
(b), unless the prohibitor has commenced proceedings before the
Court to restrain the conveyance, mortgage or charge to which the
prohibition relates, the prohibition shall lapse and the instruments or
documents presented under subsection (7) shall be deemed filed and
processed as at the date of presentation.
(9) If no action is brought in the manner and within the time
mentioned in the preceding subsections, the owner of the land may
apply ex-parte to the Court for an order that the prohibition be
declared abandoned, and upon production by the applicant of a
certificate of the Registrar that no action has been so brought, the
Court shall make the order and may therein deal with the costs of the
proceedings in prohibition as the court thinks fit.
(10) Nothing in this section shall operate to prevent a

transaction if the memorial of the prohibition is removed from the
register before the period of suspension has expired.
(11) No land or interest affected by a prohibition may be
made the subject of any further prohibition so as to defeatthe
provisions of subsection (6).
(12) If a purchaser lodges a prohibition without reasonable
cause, he shall be liable in damages to any person who may have
suffered loss thereby.
(13) A prohibition shall operate to prevent any disposition
of land affected thereby, subject to subsections (6), (7), (8),(9) and (10)
and in any event, no longer than one year from the date of lodgement.
(14) A prohibition may be renewed at the end of one year subject to
subsection (9).
23. Whenever, in consequence of an error or omission in

any grant, transport, mortgage bond, or other deed,
whether in the name or names of a person or persons therein
mentioned or in the description of the property thereby
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granted, transported, or bound, it is found necessary to

amend that grant, transport, bond, or deed, the Court may,
upon consent in writing of the persons interested, amend the
error:
Provided that—
(a) where the error or omission is common to

two or more interdependent documents one
document shall not be amended without the
other or others; and
(b) if any interested person refuses to consent to

the amendment, no alteration shall be made
before that person has had an opportunity of
being heard.
Mode of 24. (1) No erasure shall at any time for any reason
dealing with whatsoever be permitted to be made in the registers or books
error in record.
of record, or in any document of title or other document
[2 of 1993]
affecting land.
(2) If any word or words is or are improperly or in

error inserted in the recording of any original document or
instrument in writing, then a line shall be drawn through the
word or words improperly inserted so as to leave the original
word or words legible, and any word or words erroneously
omitted shall either be interlined or written in the margin,
and always when practicable by the same hand as the rest of
the record, and the Registrar or a notary public shall, under
the line or word or words written in the margin, or under a
mark of reference to the interlineation or correction, legibly
subscribe the initials of his name and surname.
Partition of 25. (1) If it happens in the case of the partition of

mortgaged
immovable property held in undivided shares that the total
property.
share of any owner in the property is hypothecated under a
mortgage bond, then, upon production of the bond and of the
consent in writing of the legal holder thereof, which consent
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shall state that it is given under this section, transport may be

allowed to be passed to the owner of the divided share
awarded to him on partition, notwithstanding that the bond
remains uncancelled.
(2) In that case the Registrar, at the time of the

passing of the transport, shall—
(a) endorse on the bond that the divided

share is in terms of this section
substituted for the undivided share
previously held by that owner;
(b) with the consent of the person

obtaining the divided share, endorse
on the transport thereof that in terms
of this section it is mortgaged by the
bond;
(c) make any other endorsement the

circumstances require.
(3) From and after the completion of the
endorsements aforesaid the divided share of the immovable
property so transported shall be deemed to be hypothecated
as fully and effectually as if the divided share and not an
undivided share had been originally hypothecated by the
bond.
Payment by 26. (1) Whenever it appears from the accounts of any

debtors to be
written off.
insolvent estate and from the vouchers annexed thereto that a
payment has been made to any creditor on account of a
registered obligation of debt, the Official Receiver shall
forthwith notify in writing that payment to the Registrar, who
shall thereupon write it off by endorsement upon the
obligation of debt.
Insolvents
(2) The Official Receiver shall furnish the
Registrar with returns of all insolvents who from time to time
obtain their discharge, and the returns shall specify the
immovable property and registered obligations of debt
appearing in the insolvent’s schedules, or in the liquidation
accounts of his estate, and the Registrar shall, on receipt of the
returns, write off all those debts registered against the
insolvent prior to his insolvency by endorsement upon the
obligation of debt.
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Substitution 27. (1) From and after the commencement of
of judicial
sale transport this Act no letters of decree shall be issued by any
for letters of
decree and court of law in respect of any immovable property
procedure to sold in execution of a judgment or an order of a
obtain.
competent court or judge, but that immovable
property shall, without previous publication of notice
of the transport, be transported before the Court after
judicial sale to the purchaser at his expense by the
officer of the Court carrying out the judgment or order.
(2) For the purpose of passing the transport,

the officer of the Court shall produce and file in the
registry a certified copy of the conditions of sale, of the
statement of the documents or other facts constituting
the title of the judgment debtor, of the affidavit in
support thereof (if any), of the instructions to levy, and
of the judgment or order (if any) whereby that
immovable property was brought under execution:
Provided that in the case of a judicial sale

transport passed by virtue of an execution sale under
process for the recovery of rates, taxes, or assessments,
imposed by or levied under the authority of any Act,
it shall be sufficient if there is filed a memorandum
signed by the Registrar giving the dates and other
particulars of the required documents.
Provisions 28. The following provisions shall apply at

relating to sales
in execution of sales in execution of immovable property after the 28th
immovables. [4 May, 1936:
of 1936]
(a) Where the sale of the property is for

the purpose of enforcing payment of a statutory claim
the property shall be sold free from all registered
incumbrances,
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registered leases and registered interests other than real

servitudes and free from any other statutory claim in respect
of which and of the amount of which the holder has given to
the Registrar notice in writing not later than the day before
the day of the sale.
(b) Where the sale of the property is for the

purpose of enforcing rights under a registered incumbrance
the property shall be sold free from all registered
incumbrances, registered interests or registered leases to
which the registered incumbrance has priority, but subject to
all statutory claims, registered incumbrances, registered
interests and registered leases which have priority to the said
registered incumbrance:
Provided that where the holder of a registered

incumbrance has consented in writing to the grant of a lease
or of a registered interest being a real servitude a sale at
execution for the purpose of enforcing his rights under the
incumbrance shall be subject to the lease or servitude.
(c) Where the sale of the property is for the

purpose of enforcing the payment of a judgment debt of a
judgment-creditor other than the holder of a statutory claim
or a registered incumbrance the property shall be sold subject
to all statutory claims, registered incumbrances, registered
interests and registered leases.
(d) (i) The Registrar shall cause to be given

notice in writing not less than eight
days before the day of the sale to
every holder of a registered
incumbrance, registered interest and
registered lease by registered post at
the address stated in the registered
instrument or if there is no such
address at the property that the sale is
at the instance of the holder of a
statutory claim or a registered
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incumbrance (as the case may be) and

that the property will be sold free
from all or subsequent (as the case
may be) registered incumbrances,
registered interests and registered
leases.
(ii) there shall be stated in the

advertisement of the sale the
registered incumbrances, registered
interests and registered leases to
which the property is subject.
(iii) there shall be stated in the conditions

of sale the statutory claims of which
notice has been given to the Registrar
under paragraph (a).
(iv) Failure to comply with any of the

requirements of this paragraph shall
not affect the operation of the other
provisions of this section or the next
five succeeding sections.
Property 29. A judicial sale transport passed after the 28th
vested by a
May, 1936, shall vest in the transferee the full and absolute
judicial sale
transport. title to the immovable property or the rights and interest
[4 of 1936] therein subject only to such statutory claims, registered
incumbrances, registered interests and registered leases as
have not been extinguished by the sale in execution.
Order of 30. The Registrar after a sale in execution shall satisfy

distribution of claims out of proceeds of sale in the following order —
proceeds of sale
in execution.
[4 of 1936] (a) where the sale has been for the enforcement of
a statutory claim —
(i) the costs in execution of the execution

creditor, and the taxed costs of
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enforcing the claim;
(ii) discharge of the statutory claim for

the enforcement of which the
property has been sold;
(iii) the discharge of any statutory claim of

which notice has been given under
section 28(a);
(iv) registered incumbrances in the order

of priority;
(v) the residue to the person or persons

thereafter entitled;
(b) where the sale has been for the enforcement of

a registered incumbrance –

creditor and the taxed costs of
enforcing the claim;
(ii) discharge of the registered

incumbrance for the enforcement of
which the property has been sold;
(iii) subsequent registered incumbrances

in the order of priority;
(iv) the residue to the person or persons

thereafter entitled;
(c) where the sale has been for the enforcement of a

claim by a judgment-creditor other than the holder of a
statutory claim or registered incumbrance-

creditor;
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(ii) the taxed costs of enforcing his claim;
(iii) the amount of the judgment debt;
(iv)the residue to the person or persons

thereafter entitled.
Summons to 31. If any person who has any interest in the proceeds
decide mode of
of sale of any property which has been sold in execution shall
distribution.
[4 of 1936] be dissatisfied with the decision of the Registrar as to the
distribution of the said proceeds, he may within seven days
after the decision apply to a Judge of the Court by summons
returnable within ten days to be served on all parties for
directions as to the mode of distribution or for the decision of
any question incidental thereto which may have arisen.
Preservation of 32. Whenever a transport is passed or a sale at

rights and
execution is made subject to any registered incumbrance,
liabilities
where transport registered interest or registered lease the said incumbrance,
is passed or interest or lease and all the provisions thereof shall continue
sale made in full force and effect, and the holder of the transport or the
subject to
purchaser shall have all the rights, powers and authorities
registered
incumbrance. and be subject to all the liabilities which are contained in the
[4 of 1936] instrument or are conferred by law.
Application of 33. The last five preceding sections shall apply to

Act. sales in execution by the Registrar under section 82 of the
[4 of 1936
14 of 1938
Local Government Act, section 220 of the Municipal and
24 of 1969] District Councils Act, section 58 of the Drainage and
c. 28:02 Irrigation Act, and section 32 of the East Demerara Water
c. 28:01 Conservancy Act.
c. 64:03
c. 55:03
Priority of 34. No deed or instrument of hypothecation executed

payment of at any time after the date of this Act shall be of any force or
debts.
effect to give any preference or priority to the payment of any
advances, debts, or demands made or accruing after the date
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29
Cap. 5:01 Deeds Registry
of that deed or instrument unless it is therein expressed that it

is meant or intended to cover or secure future advances,
debts, or demands generally, or some proper description
thereof is in the deed or instrument described, and unless also
some certain sum is expressed in the deed or instrument as
that beyond which those future advances, debts, or demands
shall not be deemed to be covered or secured by the
hypothecation made or created by the deed or instrument.
Registration of 35. Anyone who, by virtue of any contract or
property
transaction or in any other manner has acquired the just and
acquired from
deceased lawful right to the ownership of any immovable property in
persons or Guyana, whether registered in the name of or as the property
others. of any other person or not, and who is not able to procure the
passing to him and registration in his name of that property
by reason of the death, mental incapacity, insolvency, or
absence unrepresented from Guyana of the person who last
obtained transport of the property, or of any person or
persons through or from whom that right has been mediately
or immediately derived, or owing to any other cause, may
apply to the Court to order that the property be passed to him
and be registered in his name, but that order, unless the Court
otherwise directs, shall convey only the title held by the
previous owner.
Appeal from 36. (1) Any person affected by a decision of a Judge of

Registrar or
the Court refusing to permit the passing of a transport,
Judge.
[2 of 1931] mortgage, cancelment of mortgage, lease or other document
or by any order or decision of a Judge in Chambers may
c. 3:02 appeal to the Full Court and the provisions of the Rules of the
Supreme Court (Appeals), 1924, shall apply to such appeals
so far as practicable.
(2) Any person affected by any order or decision

of the Registrar may appeal to a Judge in Chambers. Such
appeal shall be by notice in writing to be served on the
Registrar within seven days after the order or decision
complained of or such further time as may be allowed by a
Judge. On the appellant serving notice of appeal the Registrar
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shall draw up a statement of his reasons for his order or

decision and shall lodge such statement with the notice of
appeal and cause a copy thereof to be served on each of the
parties. Unless otherwise ordered by a Judge there shall be at
least four clear days between service of the notice of appeal
and the day of hearing. On the hearing of the appeal the
Judge shall make such order or give such decision as he shall
deem fit and shall have power, subject to this Act, to make
such order as to costs as may be just.
(3) In all proceedings before the Full Court of the

High Court or a Judge the costs of the Registrar shall be in the
discretion of the Court or Judge but the Registrar shall not be
ordered to pay the costs of any other of the parties.
(4) For the purpose of calculating the fees

payable to the Registrar on an appeal to a Judge or to the Full
Court of the High Court such appeal shall be deemed to be an
application under Order 40 of the Rules of the High Court.
Registration of 37. Anyone who acquires the right to immovable
property
property by expropriation and is entitled to obtain transport
acquired by
expropriation. thereof but cannot from any cause obtain the transport in the
ordinary manner and according to the usual forms, may
apply to the Court to order that the property be passed to him
and registered in his name.
Application 38. (1) Upon hearing an application under section 35

under section or 37, the Court may grant an order setting forth the
35 or 37.
description of the property mentioned in the application and
calling upon all persons having or claiming to have any right
or title thereto to appear and establish their claims upon some
day to be named in the order, or to be forever barred
therefrom, and may direct the mode of service and
publication of the order.
Showing cause. (2) If anyone appears to show cause against the

order, the Court may, without the issue of any summons,
require any question of fact to be tried with or without
LAWS OF GUYANA
31
Cap. 5:01 Deeds Registry
pleadings, or make such order as will in the most speedy and

inexpensive manner determine the matter in controversy.
Order for (3) Upon consideration of the application, or
registration. upon the return of any order aforesaid, no good cause being
shown to the contrary, the Court may order the Registrar to
pass and register the transport, mortgage, lease, or transfer, as
the case may be, of the property mentioned in the order to
and in the name of the person, and subject to the terms and
conditions, mentioned therein:
Provided that the Registrar shall not be liable for any
costs incurred for anything in good faith by him done or
refused to be done in the ordinary course of his duty.
Registered 39. Subject to the terms of any order aforesaid for the
mortgage to
passing and registration of title, any registered mortgage over
subsist, subject
to immovable property so registered in existence at the date of
terms of order. the passing and registration of title shall attach to and upon
the property precisely as then existing, and all entries and
endorsements required by law to be made upon or in regard
to any transport passed in obedience to the order shall be
forthwith made by the Registrar.
Payment of
40. When an order has been made under section 38
fees on
registration. (3) directing the Registrar to pass transport and register the
title in any property in the name of any person, that person
shall be liable to pay the fees, taxes, and duties in respect of
the registration which he would have been liable to pay if the
property had been transported to him directly from the
person last holding title as proprietor thereof in due form of
law.
Form of 41. Upon filing with the Registrar any order granted
registration.
under section 38 (3) the Registrar shall certify, sign, and after
the passing thereof, register the transport of the immovable
property as by the order directed as nearly as possible in the
form provided by the rules made under this Act, subject to
any conditions directed by the order.
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When amount 42. Any sum of money which the Court making an
due payable in
order under section 38 (3) finds to be due to anyone by the
case of absence
to Public person in favour of whom the order is made shall, if the
Trustee. person to whom it is found due is absent from Guyana,
unknown, or a minor, be paid to the Public Trustee to the
credit of the person found entitled to it or otherwise as
ordered by the Court.
Concealment 43. (1) If, in the course of proceedings before the

or suppression
Registrar or the Court in pursuance of this Act or of any rules
of documents
or facts. made under it in connection with the passing of any
[6 of 1997] transport, mortgage, or long lease of immovable property,
any person concerned in the proceedings, as principal or
agent, with intent to conceal the title of any person, or to
substantiate a false claim to that property, suppresses, or
attempts to suppress, or is privy to the suppression of, any
document or fact, that person shall be guilty of a
misdemeanour and, upon conviction on indictment, shall be
liable to a fine of five hundred and twenty thousand dollars
or to imprisonment for two years.
(2) Anyone who fraudulently procures, or attempts

fraudulently to procure, or is privy to fraudulently procuring
any entry on any register kept in the registry, or any erasure
from the register or alteration thereof shall be guilty of a
misdemeanour and, upon conviction on indictment, be liable
to a fine of five hundred and twenty thousand dollars or to
imprisonment for two years; and any entry, erasure, or
alteration so fraudulently procured shall be void as between
all parties thereto.
(3) No proceeding or conviction for any act

declared by this Act to be a misdemeanour shall affect any
remedy to which anyone aggrieved by the act may be
entitled, either at law or in equity.
(4) Nothing in this section contained shall entitle

any person to refuse to make a complete discovery by answer
in any legal proceeding, or to answer any question or
LAWS OF GUYANA
interrogatory in any civil proceeding, in any court; but no

answer to any question or interrogatory aforesaid shall be
admissible in evidence against that person in any criminal
proceedings under this Act.
Fees. 44. (1) The fees payable to the Registrar shall be

[2 of 1931]
regulated by regulations made by the Minister responsible for
finance.
(2) All regulations and all tariffs of fees and costs

payable to the Registrar made in pursuance of this section
shall be laid before the National Assembly at the first Session
thereof after they have been made.
Affidavit or 45. For the purpose of ascertaining the correct duty

declaration as
payable under any future Tax Act which imposes a duty on
to
consideration any conveyances or transports of immovable property and on
for all transfers of rights over or interests in any State lands held
conveyance. under any lease, licence, or permission, the seller or his
attorney and the purchaser or his attorney shall, before the
passing of the transport or the completion of the transfer,
make and file with the Registrar or the Commissioner of
Lands, as the case may be, an affidavit in the case of
transports and a declaration in the case of transfers, setting
forth the full and true consideration paid or payable for the
transport or transfer; but the affidavit or declaration shall not
be required where immovable property or the rights or
interests in State lands aforesaid is or are proved by affidavit,
declaration, or in any other manner to the satisfaction of the
Registrar or Commissioner, as the case may be, to have been
sold by any auctioneer at public auction.
Forms. 46. The forms contained in the Third Schedule hereto

Third Schedule may, with the variations and additions the circumstances of
the particular case require, be used on the occasions to which
they respectively apply, and when so used shall be good and
sufficient in law.
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s. 4(2)
FIRST SCHEDULE
DUTIES OF ASSISTANT SWORN CLERKS
1. Attending on behalf of the Registrar as clerk of court

any session of the Supreme Court in its civil or criminal
jurisdiction and performing any of the duties legally
devolving upon the Registrar in the judicial department or
registry of court.
2. Drawing and passing powers ad lites. Drawing and
passing any inventory. Sealing when necessary any door, box,
trunk, or package of a deceased person.
3. Drawing and passing any act of sealing.
4. Drawing and passing any act of breaking the seals and

taking them off.
5. Sealing up when necessary any paper, parcel, box,

trunk, or package deposited ad acta.
6. Attending execution sales.
7. Drawing acts of deposit of wills, and drawing and

passing acts of deposit of other documents.
8. Registering any act, paper, or document and supplying

certified copies of documents recorded or deposited in the
registry.
9. Administering any oath, affidavit, or declaration under

this Act.
LAWS OF GUYANA
s. 9 SECOND SCHEDULE
[2 of 1931
4 of 1972
R. 28/9/1925 THE DEEDS REGISTRY RULES
2/1957]
1. These Rules may be cited as the Deeds Registry Rules.
2. In these Rules ‚transport clerk‛ means the clerk

assigned by the Registrar to take charge of the conveyancing
branch of the registry and the person acting as that clerk.
3. If necessary, the charge of any branch registry may,

with the approval of the Minister, be assigned by the
Registrar to a sworn clerk and notary public.
4. All deeds, powers, and other documents, other than

wills or codicils, tendered for passing, registration, deposit, or
record, must be neatly and plainly written, type-written, or
printed on vellum or stout and durable paper, with a
sufficient margin for binding. No carbon copy of any type-
written document will be accepted for the purpose of being
filed as of record in the registry. Alterations and
interlineations should not be made, and, if unavoidable, they
must be properly initialed by the parties to the document.
5. (l) Deeds executed after these Rules come into force by

or in favour of women must state whether the women are
single, married, or widows, and, in the case of a married
woman, must contain the full name of her husband and set
forth whether she is married to him with or without
community of property or subsequent to the 20th August,
1904.
(2) Women married by antenuptial contract prior to

that date must be assisted by their husbands in executing
deeds or powers except where, by antenuptial contract duly
recorded or deposited, the wife has reserved to herself the
right of managing her own property.
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6. (1) Any person desiring to pass a transport, mortgage,

or lease, required by law to be passed before the Court, shall
lodge with the Registrar (or if there is a branch registry in the
county, other than the county of Demerara, where the
property being dealt with is situate then with the clerk in
charge thereof) written instructions setting out the description
of the property in question and the name or names of the
parties concerned and their several addresses and
descriptions, together with the document or documents upon
which the right, title, or authority to complete or enter into
the transaction is founded, and, in the case of a transport of
immovable property shall lodge at the same time the
affidavits of purchaser and seller.
(2) Upon receipt of those instructions the Registrar

shall cause due notice of the transport, mortgage, or lease to
be published once in the Gazette on a Saturday.
(3) The instructions shall not be received from any

person except the principal, his attorney, or a legal
practitioner.
7. The instructions, duly completed and accompanied by

all necessary supporting documents, shall be lodged before
the hour of three in the afternoon on any day of the week (not
being a public holiday) other than Saturday with the
transport clerk, who shall note on the former the day and
hour of receipt, but no instructions lodged later than
Thursday at mid-day in any week shall be advertised on the
Saturday during that week.
8. Any person having a right to oppose the passing of a

transport, mortgage, or lease shall do so in the manner and
subject to the conditions now or hereafter prescribed by rules
of court.
9. (1) On receipt of the instructions, and on being satisfied

that no opposition has been entered, that the instructions are
complete and in order, with all necessary supporting
LAWS OF GUYANA
affidavits and other documents, the transport clerk shall, as

soon after the fourteenth day after the notice referred to in
rule 5 as is possible, lay them before the Registrar who shall
examine them.
(2) If the Registrar decides that the documents and

title are in order for passing, he shall sign a certificate to that
effect in the form annexed hereto, which certificate shall be
affixed to the original transport, mortgage, or lease to which it
relates, and thereafter the transaction shall be completed
before the Court or the Registrar as the case may be.
Whenever the Registrar is available, transports, mortgages,
cancelment of mortgages, leases and other documents shall be
passed and executed before him and whether executed before
a Judge or the Registrar the Registrar shall take charge of the
same and file and register them in the Deeds Registry, a
grosse thereof being made for the use of the transportees,
mortgagees or lessees as the case may be.
10. All instructions and all affidavits lodged with the

Registrar shall be retained by him as records of the Deeds
Registry and shall on no account whatever be delivered by
him to any person. Grosses of transports or other documents
of title lodged with the Registrar shall be retained by him
until the transaction in connection with which they have been
lodged has been completed or abandoned or otherwise
determined, when, if by virtue of such transaction they have
ceased to have force, they shall be destroyed by him, but, if
the case be otherwise, they shall be returned to the person
who lodged them. Powers of attorney and other enabling
documents lodged with the Registrar may be delivered by
him to the person who lodged them whilst the transaction is
pending provided the Registrar is satisfied that such persons
would be inconvenienced by the retention of the same. Such
documents shall be delivered to the person who lodged them
when the transaction is completed, abandoned or otherwise
determined, save as otherwise provided by these Rules.
11. No transport, mortgage, or lease, or other transaction

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to which the afore-mentioned certificate relates shall be

passed after the expiration of three months from the date of
the certificate, but the instructions and proceedings shall be
commenced afresh.
12. In order to facilitate business, whenever instructions

are lodged in which any question of fact mentioned in the Act
or these Rules arises, a short statement of the several facts and
circumstances, together with a table of descent, shall be
lodged, if required by the Court or Registrar, with the
documents proving those facts and circumstances.
13. Any person wishing to pass any transport, lease,

mortgage, or transfer, in which his title is founded upon a will
or inheritance ab intestato, must produce satisfactory proof to
the Registrar of the death of any person whose death it is
necessary to prove, or of any other fact affecting the title, and
a certified copy of the will shall also be lodged with the
instructions.
14. Proof of marriage shall be by affidavit or other

evidence to the satisfaction of the Court or Registrar.
15. Proof of marriage by contract shall be by production

of the antenuptial contract if it has been duly recorded, or a
certified copy thereof if it has been duly deposited, and proof
of community of goods shall be by affidavit.
16. Proof of intestacy shall be by certificate of the

Registrar that no will is on record in the registry and also by
an affidavit of some person who would probably know of the
existence of a will, like the intestate’s wife or husband, or
parents, or children, or other near relative.
17. Proof of a person having died unmarried shall be by

affidavit of someone well acquainted with the deceased.
18. Proof of a person having died childless shall be by

affidavit of some person well acquainted with the family.
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19. Whenever, from the lapse of time since the original

title was passed, or otherwise, the Court or Registrar
considers proof of the identity of any person passing a
transport or mortgage to be necessary, the parties may be
required to supply that proof by affidavit.
20. Where land is acquired with special conditions

attached, other than conditions in any State grant or lease
limiting the right of the owner, those conditions must as long
as they remain in force be embodied in every transport of the
land, except as regards conditions contained in a State and
Government title.
21. No transport or lease of land specially hypothecated

under a mortgage bond shall be passed until the mortgage
bond has been duly cancelled, but this rule shall not apply to
cases in which such land is transported—
(a) in execution of the judgment of any

competent court by the officer appointed by
law or by that court;
(b) by the trustee of the insolvent estate to

which the land belongs;
(c) where the transferee specially accepts in

writing the transport or transfer subject to
the mortgage;
(d) under any special provision allowed by the

Deeds Registry Act, or any other Act.
22. (1) Every transport or lease must quote the date and
number of the grant or transport by which the party
transporting or leasing holds, and must also refer to the
diagram (if any) of, the property being transported; but no
diagram shall be deposited or recorded in the registry until it
has been certified by the Commissioner of Lands.
LAWS OF GUYANA
(2) The Registrar with the consent of the parties shall

have power to substitute any diagram drawn or corrected by
the Commissioner of Lands for the diagram originally
presented.
(3) Where two or more distinct properties are to be

conveyed by the same deed, each property must be described
in a separate paragraph which shall set forth the particulars
herein mentioned.
23. Any person seeking to pass a transport, lease,

mortgage, or transfer, or to cancel a mortgage or lease, or to
perform any act of a similar nature, on behalf of any other
person, must lodge with the Registrar the power under which
he claims to act at the time when he files his written
instructions, but this rule shall not apply to any power which
may at the time have been already deposited or recorded in
the registry, and of which a certified copy is lodged.
24. (1) A special power of attorney which provides only

for the passing of a transport or lease, or the passing of a
mortgage, or the cancelment of a mortgage or lease, and
provides for no other purpose, shall be as nearly as possible
in the form attached hereto and shall, subject to the provisions
of the last preceding rule, be filed with the original transport,
mortgage, lease, or cancellation to which it relates, and, if
executed within Guyana, will not be accepted unless executed
before a notary public, or attested by the signatures of two
witnesses and by the certificate of a magistrate or justice of
the peace that it was on the day and date thereof duly
executed by the person therein named, who acknowledged
himself to be perfectly acquainted with its true intent and
object, and who, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the
magistrate or justice, was the person he or she purported to
be.
(2) A special power of attorney aforesaid shall

plainly set out in the body thereof the duties to be performed
on behalf of the principal and fully describe the property to be
LAWS OF GUYANA
transported, or mortgaged, or leased, and shall not be used

except in respect of the one transport, mortgage, lease, or
cancellation with which it is filed.
25. Certified copies of transports, leases and transfers of

leases passed under the Deeds Registry Act will be issued on
application should the grosse thereof have been lost or
destroyed, on the following conditions—
(a) the person in whose name the property or

right conveyed or secured by such deed
stands registered, shall make an affidavit
describing the said deed and stating that it
has not been pledged and is not being
detained or held by anyone whomsoever as
security for any debt or otherwise, and that
it has been actually lost or destroyed and
cannot be found though diligent search has
been made, and further setting forth where
possible the circumstances under which it
was lost or destroyed and if the deponent is
unable to give the circumstances such fact
should be stated in the affidavit;
(b) he shall also furnish evidence of his identity

on oath to the satisfaction of the Registrar;
(c) should such person be absent from Guyana,

incompetent by reason of any legal
disability, or dead, then the affidavit may be
made by his legal representative or the legal
representative of his estate. In the case of an
insolvent, in addition to the insolvent’s
affidavit an affidavit may be required from
the assignee of his estate.
26. (1) Certified copies of mortgage bonds passed before

the coming into force of the Deeds Registry Act, or passed
and executed in accordance with that Act, or any cession of
LAWS OF GUYANA
those mortgage bonds, will be issued, on application, if the

grosse thereof has been lost or destroyed, on the following
conditions—
(a) the person purporting to be the legal

holder thereof shall make an affidavit
giving a proper description of the
bond and stating that it is lost or
destroyed, as the case may be, and
that at the time when it was so lost or
destroyed he was the legal holder
thereof, that it was not pledged or
ceded to any other persons, that it
cannot be found though diligent
search for it has been made, and
further setting forth where possible
the circumstances under which it was
lost or destroyed, and if the deponent
is unable to give the circumstances the
fact should be stated in the affidavit;
(b) if the person who was or purports to

be the legal holder of the bond or
cession is incompetent, incapable,
dead, or absent from Guyana, the
affidavit made by his curator,
executor, or lawful representative, as
the case may be;
(c) the holder aforesaid shall also insert

three times on three consecutive
Saturdays in the Gazette and in a
newspaper circulating in the county
in which the property the subject of
the mortgage is situate, a notice,
previously approved by the Registrar,
to the following effect with any
alterations necessary in each case:
LAWS OF GUYANA
LOST MORTGAGE BOND
Notice is hereby given that I intend applying for a

certified copy of a mortgage bond for an amount of
.................passed at ............ on the
................ day of ................, 20 ......., no ............. by
...........[full name of mortgage or and address] in favour of
............. [full name and address of mortgagee] by which [fully
describing the property] was bonded. And all persons who
may have any claim or right to the said mortgage bond or
who may have any objections to the issue of that copy are
hereby requested to lodge their objections in writing with
the Registrar within six weeks from the publication of
this notice.
Dated at .................this ................day of .................., 20 ......;
(Applicant’s signature.)
(d) the legal holder aforesaid shall lodge

with the Registrar the affidavit, the
numbers and dates of issue of the
Gazette in which the notice appeared,
and one complete copy of the
newspaper of each date on which the
notice was published.
(2) After the expiration of the time mentioned in

the notice the Registrar shall, if satisfied that no good reason
to the contrary exists, grant the certified copy asked for in the
place of the lost or destroyed grosse of the mortgage bond or
cession, as the case may be; but the copy shall not be issued
until he has caused the registers to be searched by a sworn
clerk who shall certify in writing that, as far as can be
ascertained from the registers and records, the mortgage bond
or cession has not been cancelled or ceded, as the case may be,
by the person by whom or by whose representative the
application is made.
LAWS OF GUYANA
27. No grosse of any transport, mortgage, lease, or other

document, and no copy of any deed issued in place of the lost
or destroyed grosse, or of any copy of any mortgage bond or
cession thereof hereinbefore mentioned shall be delivered to
the person entitled to receive it unless he, or his agent duly
authorised in writing has previously granted on the original
deed or instrument a receipt for that grosse or copy, or, in the
case of persons residing at a distance from Georgetown or
New Amsterdam, has transmitted to the Registrar a written
receipt duly witnessed therefor, and in the latter case the
grosse or copy shall thereupon be transmitted by post to the
person granting the receipt at his risk.
28. Certified copies of deeds conveying or mortgaging

immovable property required for judicial purposes will be
issued only on receipt of a written application, signed by a
duly admitted legal practitioner, or, if there is no counsel
employed in the case, then on the written application of the
party, giving full particulars of the purpose for which the
copy or copies is or are required and having the words
‚Issued for judicial purposes only in .................. *naming the
cause or matter+‛ plainly and legibly written in large letters
across every page of every copy so issued. That copy shall on
no account whatsoever be used for any purpose other than
that for which it is issued.
29. Every power of attorney, declaration, or affidavit

required or allowed by any of the foregoing rules shall state
in the body thereof by whom it has been drawn, and any
power of attorney, declaration, or affidavit drawn by anyone
other than the person on whose behalf it is to be used, or by a
legal practitioner, shall not be received.
30. Every deed of transport of immovable property shall,

subject to any necessary alterations, be as nearly as possible in
one of the forms attached hereto.
LAWS OF GUYANA
r. 9
CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRAR (Nature of
transaction is to be stated here.)
I hereby certify that I have examined, checked and satisfied

myself as to the sufficiency of the title of ........... [give name of
transferor, mortgagor, or as the case may be] to pass the
above-mentioned.................... (transport, mortgage, or as the
case may be) of .............[state property shortly] to and in
favour of ........[state transferee, mortgagee, or as the case may
be].
Dated at Georgetown, this ........day of .............,20...
Registrar
r. 30 TRANSPORT
Guyana
County of....................
Before ............Chief Justice or Puisne Judge of Guyana

aforesaid.
Be it known that on this day the ................of ................. in

the year two thousand and ................. appeared ................
which appearer declared by these presents to cede, transport,
and in full and free property to make over to and in favour of
................. his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns
[here describe fully the property] being of the value of ...............
dollars of the current money of Guyana aforesaid, transported
on the ............... the appearer............ acknowledging to be fully
paid and satisfied for the same. And appeared at the same
time ............... who declared to accept of the foregoing
transport and to be satisfied therewith.
LAWS OF GUYANA
In testimony whereof the parties have hereunto set their

hands and I, the said judge, together with the transport clerk,
have countersigned the same the day and year first above
written, the seal of the Court being affixed hereto.
r. 30 TRANSPORT
Guyana
County of....................
Be it known that in obedience to a judgment (or order) of

the High Court (or of the honourable ............. in chambers, as
the case may be) under the Deeds Registry Act, before
.............. Chief Justice or Puisne Judge of Guyana appeared
..................... an officer of the Court, which appearer declared
by these presents to cede, transport, and in full and free
property to make over, to and in favour ............ of his hei rs,
executors, administrators and assigns [here describe fully the
property] being the value of ............ dollars of the current
money of Guyana. And appeared at the same time who
declared to accept the foregoing transport and to be satisfied
therewith.
In testimony whereof the parties have hereunto set their

hands and I, the said Judge, together with the transport clerk
have countersigned the same the day and year first above
written, the seal of the Court being affixed hereto.
r. 23 SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY TO TRANSPORT OR

MORTGAGE
I, ......... of ............ do hereby constitute and appoint

................. of ............... to be my true and lawful attorney and
agent for the special purpose hereinafter expressed, that is to
LAWS OF GUYANA
say, in my name and on my behalf to appear before a Judge of

the High Court of Guyana and then and there to give and
pass transport of (or as the case may be) [here describe the
property] sold by me to (or mortgaged as the case may be, and
the amount of the mortgage) of ......... to the said ................... in
due and customary form, and generally for effecting the
purpose aforesaid to do whatsoever shall be requisite as
effectually to all intents and purposes as if I myself could do if
present and acting in person, and all and whatsoever my said
attorney shall lawfully do or cause to be done in the premises
I agree to allow and confirm.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand at

................ this ..............day of ......... two thousand and
................... before ..................... and in the presence of the
subscribing witnesses.
As Witnesses.
1.
2.
Signed before me, the............. to the best of my knowledge

and belief being the person he/she purports to be and
appearing fully to understand the effect hereof.
Magistrate or Justice of the Peace
s. 46 THIRD SCHEDULE
FORMS
FORM 1
DECLARATION OF SELLER
County of Demerara.
I, A.B. (occupation and residence) do solemnly and

LAWS OF GUYANA
sincerely declare*—
(1) that on the...................... day of ...............20...., I sold to

C.D. the property herein described, that is to say (here describe
the property) and that the full and true consideration passing
to me for the sale is the sum of .............. And I further state
that there is not any agreement, condition, or undertaking
between me and the said C.D. whereby he is to pay or has
paid to me or to any other person whomsoever for or in
respect of or in connection with the purchase by him of the
said property any sum of money over and above the said sum
of................... save and except certain charges under the
heading of stamp duty or registrar’s fees.
(2) And I further state in respect of the said sale that I
have not received and that I am not to receive nor has any
other person received nor is any other person to receive for
my use or benefit or at my instance or request any valuable
consideration besides the said sum of....................
(3) †All of which I declare to be the absolute truth
without any reservation whatever, and according to the
c. 5:09 Statutory Declarations Act.
Sworn
Declared before me at ................this..............day

of.............., 20......
*If for a transport, say ‚being duly sworn make oath and say as
follows—‛.
†Omit if for a transport.

LAWS OF GUYANA
FORM 2
DECLARATION OF PURCHASER
County of Demerara.
I, C.D. (occupation and address) do solemnly and sincerely

declare*—
(1) That on the ............ day of ................ 20....., I bought

from A.B. the property herein described (here describe the
property) and that the full and true consideration paid or to be
paid by me for the property whether to the said A.B. or to any
other person in connection with the sale is the sum
of....................
(2) And I further state that I have not nor has any other
person to my knowledge on my account paid nor is there by
me or on my behalf to be paid any other valuable
consideration for or in respect of or in connection with the
alienation to me of the said property, save and except certain
stamp duty and Registrar’s fees.
c. 5:09
LAWS OF GUYANA
(3)† All of which I declare to be the absolute truth

without any reservation whatsoever, and according to the
Statutory Declarations Act.
Sworn
Declared before me at ...........this ........... day of ..............., 20.....
* If for a transport, say ‚being duly sworn make oath and say as follows—‛.
†Omit if for a transport.
s. 22A. FORM 3
PROHIBITION
To the Registrar of Deeds
Take notice that I,…………………. of ……………………. claim to be entitled to

a conveyance in and to the following property:
………………………………………………………………………………………
now standing in the name of ………………….. of………………………………..
pursuant to a written agreement of sale and purchase dated……………… attached
hereto and I forbid the conveyance, mortgage or charge of this property to any third
party until after notice of the intended conveyance or mortgage or charge has been
given to me.
Particulars upon which such claim is founded:
………………………………………………………………………………………
My address for service is:………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………...
Signature of Prohibitor Attorney-at-Law
LAWS OF GUYANA
STATUTORY DECLARATION
I, the above-named……………… (or Attorney-at-Law) do solemnly and sincerely
declare that the statements in the above prohibition are true in substance and in fact
and the agreement dated……………….. in respect of the property the subject of
this prohibition is valid and subsisting and meets the requirements as laid out in the
Deeds Registry Act,Cap 5:01 (as I have been informed by the above-
named…………… and verily believe) I make this declaration.”.

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LAWS OF GUYANA

DEEDS REGISTRY ACT

Current Authorised Pages

Deeds Registry Cap. 5:01 2

This Chapter contains no subsidiary legislation.

This Act repealed Ordinance (7 of 1913).

3 Cap. 5:01 Deeds Registry

Deeds Registry Cap. 5:01 4

FIRST SCHEDULE—Duties of Assistant Sworn Clerks.

5 Cap. 5:01 Deeds Registry

17of 1919 An Act to regulate the Office of the Registrar of Deeds of

[1st JANUARY, 1920]

Interpretation. 2. In this Act—

‚the Court‛ means the High Court or a judge thereof;

‚deed‛ includes not only instruments so called according to

‚judicial sale transport‛ means a transport passed by the

‚registered incumbrances‛ means all mortgages and charges

‚registered interests‛ means and includes all liabilities, rights,

‚registered leases‛ means all leases registered under this Act;

‚the Registrar‛ means the Registrar of Deeds;

‚the registry‛ means the deeds registry;

Deeds Registry Cap. 5:01 6

‚statutory claims‛ means unpaid charges or liens imposed by

Provided that no person shall be appointed a notary

(2) The Registrar and the Deputy Registrar shall be

(3) Anything in subsection (1) to the contrary

(a) is an attorney-at-law and who within

(b) is an attorney-at-law of not less than

7 Cap. 5:01 Deeds Registry

(4) For the purpose of subsection (3) ‚attorney-at-

Duties of 4. (1) Except where otherwise specially provided, the

(2) Except where otherwise specially provided,

(3) Each and every member of the staff shall

Appointment 5. During the temporary absences of the Registrar

When Registrar 6. During the temporary absences of the Registrar

Deeds Registry Cap. 5:01 8

[11 of 1934 cancelment of mortgage, lease or other

(b) to do any act or thing which the Registrar

Duties of the 7. The registry shall be under the charge of the

(a) to take charge of and preserve the records of

(b) to examine, certify, and register conveyances

(c) to examine, certify, and register mortgage

(d) to examine and check and to satisfy himself

9 Cap. 5:01 Deeds Registry

(e) to examine all descriptions of property dealt

(f) to register or record contracts, notarial

(g) on the consent of the parties concerned, to

(h) to register or record cessions or assignments

(i) to register, annotate, or record against any

Deeds Registry Cap. 5:01 10

(j) to make all endorsements and annotations

(k) to keep all registers, including land, mortgage

(l) to keep a register of all orders of court

(m) to make a weekly return to the

(n) to permit members of the public, upon

(o) generally, to exercise all powers and

11 Cap. 5:01 Deeds Registry

Validity of 8. The books of registers or records heretofore and at

(a) the method whereby transports, titles,