When you buy land in The Gambia from abroad, you rarely see the land first. You see paper. A photo of a lease sent over WhatsApp. A transfer letter with a stamp. A receipt from an area council. A hand-drawn site plan. Each one looks official, and each one is offered as proof that the seller owns what they are selling.
The problem is that these documents do not all prove the same thing. Some show ownership that the state has recorded. Some show only that a local leader agreed to an allocation. Some show only that money changed hands. This guide explains the three main ways land is held in The Gambia, what each type of paperwork actually tells you, and what to check before you send a deposit.
The three ways land is held in The Gambia
Gambian land law is a mix of English common law, Islamic law and customary practice. For a buyer, that boils down to three types of holding.
Freehold
Freehold means the land is owned outright, with no fixed end date and no rent to the state. It goes back to colonial grants to individuals and companies. Land research groups describe freehold as a small share of land in the country. Most diaspora buyers will never be offered a genuine freehold. So if a seller in the Kombos says their plot is freehold, ask to see the registered deed, and have a lawyer confirm it. Do not take the word on trust.
Leasehold from the state
This is the type most diaspora buyers deal with along the coast. Under the State Lands Act 1991, the Minister responsible for lands can declare areas “state land”. Kombo North, Kombo South and Kombo Central were declared state land in 1994. That covers much of the area buyers look at, including Brufut, Brusubi, Bijilo and the land around Senegambia.
In a designated area, the land is administered by the state and you hold a lease from the state. The Act deals in leases of up to 99 years, and people who already held land under customary tenure when an area was designated are treated as “deemed lessees”. They are expected to apply for a formal lease and meet its conditions. The Department of Lands and Surveys prepares leases, and the ministry responsible for lands signs as landlord.
So when someone in Brufut says “I own this land”, what they usually have is a state lease, or a right to apply for one. That is not a bad thing. A registered lease is the strongest paperwork most buyers will see. But you need to know which of the two it is.
Customary land
Outside the designated areas, most land in the regions is held under customary tenure. Under the Lands (Regions) Act it is vested in District Authorities and held for the benefit of local communities. In practice it is controlled by families and lineages and administered by the alkalo (village head), with the seyfo (district chief) and district tribunals dealing with disputes.
Customary land can be allocated, and local transfers are processed with the area council. But for people who are not from the community, the Act has tight rules. Any sale, sublet or transfer of a lease needs the written consent of the District Authority and the approval of the Minister. The Act says transfers made without them are null and void. This is where many buyers get hurt: they paid a family, got a letter, and later found that the consents the law needs were never given.
What each document proves, and what it does not
Here are the documents you are most likely to be sent, in rough order from weakest to strongest.
Payment receipts
A receipt shows that someone paid someone. It does not show that the person who was paid had the right to sell. Keep every receipt, but never treat a receipt as a title.
Site plans and survey drawings
A site plan shows where the plot is meant to be and how big it is. A plan drawn by a licensed surveyor and matched to the lease is useful. A plan sketched by the seller is not evidence of anything. Either way, the plan has to be checked on the ground: walk the boundaries, find the beacons, and confirm the plot in the drawing is the plot you were shown.
Alkalo letters and local transfer papers
On customary land, the first paper is often a letter or transfer form signed by the alkalo and processed with the area council. This shows that the land was allocated locally and that the local authorities were involved. It does not, on its own, give you a state lease, and it does not replace the consents the Lands (Regions) Act requires for transfers. It is also the type of paper most often issued twice for the same land when family members disagree.
A deemed lease or “application in progress”
In the Kombos you will often hear that a lease “is being processed”. That may be true. The seller may be a deemed lessee under the State Lands Act who has not yet received a formal lease. But until the lease is granted, you are buying a claim, not a title. The Act also allows the Minister to set a deadline for deemed lessees to apply. Those who miss it can lose their position. Ask exactly what stage the application is at, and get it confirmed by the Department of Lands and Surveys.
A registered lease
This is the document you want. It names the leaseholder, the plot, the term, the rent and the conditions, and it is recorded at the Lands Registry in Banjul, the public registry set up under the land registration law. Even here, the copy in your hand only matters if the Registry’s record matches it. A title search confirms that the person selling is the person on the record and that nothing else has been registered against the plot.
Read the conditions, not just the name
Buyers often check the leaseholder’s name and stop there. The conditions matter just as much, because breaking them can put the lease at risk.
- Development condition. State leases can require the land to be built on within a set period. If the plot has sat empty for years, ask whether the condition has been met or waived. If not, the state may be able to take it back.
- Ground rent. State leases carry rent set by the Minister. Ask for proof that it is paid up to date.
- Permitted use. A lease is granted for a purpose, such as residential. If you plan a guesthouse or shop, check that the use allows it, and speak to the Department of Physical Planning before you design anything.
- Consent to transfer. Find out whose consent the transfer needs and get it in writing before completion, not after.
- Term remaining. A lease that started decades ago has fewer years left. Check the start date as well as the length.
Questions to ask before you send a deposit
Send these to the seller, in writing, and keep the replies. If the answers are vague or slow, that tells you something too.
- Is this land freehold, a state lease, or customary land?
- If it is a lease, what is the lease number, and can I have a full copy, not just the front page?
- Is the lease registered at the Lands Registry in Banjul, and on what date?
- If there is no lease yet, what stage is the application at, and who at the Department of Lands and Surveys can confirm it?
- Who exactly is selling? If it is family land, have all the people with an interest agreed in writing?
- Has a licensed surveyor produced the site plan, and do the beacons on the ground match it?
- Are the ground rent and any council rates paid up to date?
- What development conditions are in the lease, and have they been met?
- Whose consent is needed to transfer the land to me, and has it been applied for?
- Will the transfer be registered in my name, and who is responsible for doing it?
The rules are changing, slowly
The Gambia has been working on a new National Land Policy. Drafts proposed recognising customary ownership through formal certificates, digitising land records into a single information system, and amending the State Lands Act. Reporting in 2026 indicates the Cabinet-approved policy was launched in late 2025, but a policy is not the same as a new law. Until legislation changes, the Acts described above are what a court will look at. Ask your lawyer whether anything new affects your plot.
Why this matters more from abroad
If you live in London, Atlanta or Stockholm, you cannot easily walk into the Lands Registry or the Department of Lands and Surveys and check a record yourself. So the seller’s paperwork becomes the only thing you see. That is exactly why it pays to know what each document can and cannot prove. Most of the patterns in our guide to property scams in The Gambia start with a buyer accepting a weaker document as if it were a registered title.
If you are just starting, our guide to buying property in The Gambia from abroad sets out the order to do things in. Buyers in Sweden can also read buying Gambian property from Sweden for the money and power of attorney side.
Where we fit
BuildSoWell does the checking you cannot do from abroad. We run title searches at the Lands Registry, confirm what stage a lease is at, film the plot and its boundaries, review the paperwork and contract with a Gambian lawyer, and track the transfer until it is registered in your name. You can see what our findings look like in our sample report, or read more about our services. If you have been sent a document and are not sure what it proves, send it to us before you send any money.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Laws, rates and procedures change, so confirm the details for your purchase with a qualified Gambian lawyer.