YANBU: Title deeds that do not clearly define the land that they supposedly represent is a major threat to development in Yanbu as buyers often end up discovering later that the land they have purchased belong to others.
Faulty title deeds, which are locally known as “floating” deeds, are believed to be the outcome of a corrupt alliance between officials and greedy real estate agents.
The holders of such documents now find themselves in limbo as the government departments that issue such deeds are not prepared to admit they have issued documents without checking registration files, Al-Madinah daily reported.
“The phenomenon of floating land documents frightens away potential investors in Yanbu,” said Khaled Al-Sohaily, secretary-general of the Yanbu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“The municipality also finds it hard to meet the demands of applicants for housing plots. Lack of land is a stumbling block in the path to economic development. This is in spite of the fact that the Kingdom allocates billions of riyals for huge projects in the region.”
He added that the issue could be resolved if the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice take an interest in identifying disputed land and negotiating with claimants.
Commenting on the issue, Chairman of the Yanbu Municipality Abdul Ali Al-Sheikh said the first thing the municipal office does when issuing a title deed is to verify the status of the land by asking concerned parties to produce original official documents issued to the previous owner. “The municipal office issues a title deed for a plot or land only to people who produce the correct documents and never to more than one party. We are willing to rectify errors or omissions that may happen at the municipal office. The municipality is helpless if an error is made by a court or a notary’s office,” Al-Sheikh said.
According to a source at the Ministry of Justice, buyers should take the initiative to verify the authenticity of a plot’s original documents and see that they conform to the records at the land registry.
“Floating deed scams have driven away real estate investors and developers from Yanbu. An ordinary citizen’s only hope, if he wants to build a house of his own, is a plot granted by the municipality. But the municipality cannot find sufficient land for such applicants as a large portion of land has been blocked due to the floating deeds scam,” said Salama Al-Johani, a real estate businessman.
Salama Al-Johani bought a plot of land with a “floating” title deed from a local landowner for SR2 million. It was only later that he found out from the notary office that the plot belonged to someone else and so he filed a lawsuit against the man who sold him the land.
“How can a court or a notary’s office issue a deed today, then issue another one the next day and decide later that one of the deeds is invalid,” Al-Johani said, hinting at corruption in government offices.
On another occasion, Al-Johani bought some land for SR13 million only to later learn that another man was in possession of the title deed for a portion of the same land.
“I don’t know how they manage to do such things. I want to ask the Ministry of Justice how a notary office or court could issue a new title deed to another person for a portion of land that is registered in my name and is under my rightful possession.”
Abdul Hamid Al-Johani, a man in his 80s, said that those plots of land which are disputed were previously unclaimed and empty. “If anyone wanted land then he would just clear and develop empty spaces instead of buying it from those who had the land’s official documents. He would live there while other people would consider the plot their rightful property,” he said.
“In those days the land registration department was not strict in following official procedures related to the buying and selling of land, and would be content with a witness’ statement to issue title deeds,” he added.
“People believed in those days that merely occupying a land made it a citizen’s lawful property. Those people did not bother to demarcate the clear borders of their properties. After decades, when plots with undefined borders grew in numbers and became part of people’s inheritance, then such land deeds became a serious issue triggering countless land disputes and litigations,” he said.
