Land Registration, Conveyancing and Property Records
Registration and records
Jamaica uses a Torrens-style land registration system under the Registration of Titles Act. The certificate of title is the central record, supported by the folio, parcel description, registered plan and encumbrances. Conveyancing transfers interests, but registration gives priority and certainty. Surveyors must read title and plan records together and must not confuse a title diagram with a field boundary.
Core rules
- Search the title, registered plan and encumbrances before advising on boundaries.
- Identify the parcel by folio and plan, not by address or fence.
- Record easements, caveats, restrictions and rights of way.
- Ensure survey plans and descriptions are consistent with the title.
- Refer legal questions to a qualified attorney.
Worked example
A title diagram shows a boundary dimension of 20.0 m, but field measurement gives 19.6 m. You do not simply change the title. You check the original plan, monuments, adjoining titles and occupation, then report the discrepancy with evidence. If the title and plan conflict, the registered title and any legal interpretation prevail; the surveyor provides factual evidence. The reasoning is that registration and legal interests are not rewritten by a new measurement.
Traps
Treating the title diagram as a precise boundary survey; ignoring caveats or easements; assuming unregistered occupation creates title; using an address as a parcel identifier; and giving legal advice beyond competence.