Buying Land in The Gambia: A Buyer’s Checklist

Why this goes wrong so often

Land disputes in The Gambia usually come down to one of three situations: the same plot sold to more than one buyer; a seller who was not entitled to sell; or a plot on the ground that does not match the plot on the paper. All three are avoidable, and all three are avoided by the same thing — checking before paying rather than after.

The pressure to skip the checks is real. Good plots move, sellers push for speed, and verification feels like distrust. It is not. It is ordinary practice, and any seller who treats it as an insult is providing useful information about themselves.

The checks, in order

1. Stand on the plot

In person, or through someone you trust who has no relationship with the seller. Walk the boundaries. Identify the corners physically. Note what is on either side and what the access is like. If you are abroad, insist on dated video that pans across recognisable surroundings rather than photographs of open ground that could be anywhere.

2. Match the ground to the paper

Compare the sketch plan or survey against the physical plot. Dimensions, orientation and the neighbouring plots shown should correspond to what is actually there. Discrepancies at this stage are not administrative details; they are the whole problem, appearing early enough to be free.

3. Establish entitlement to sell

Who is selling, and on what basis? If it is not the person named in the documentation, what authority do they hold, and is it in writing? Sales by a family member "on behalf of" others and sales from an estate that has not been properly distributed are two of the more common sources of later dispute.

4. Run a search through your own lawyer

Your own — not one recommended by the seller. A Gambian lawyer acting for you can search the relevant registry, confirm the documentation is what it appears to be, and identify anything registered against the land. This is the single most valuable expense in the entire process and it is a small fraction of the purchase price.

5. Ask the neighbours

It is informal and it is remarkably effective. Neighbours know who has been using the land, whether anyone else has been shown around it recently, and whether there is a dispute. A ten-minute conversation has saved a great many buyers.

6. Check what it will cost to build

A cheap plot that sits low and needs substantial fill before anything can be built is not cheap. Ground level relative to neighbouring plots and the road, drainage, access for delivery vehicles and distance to services all feed directly into the build cost. Get a builder to look at the plot before you buy it, not after.

Understand what you are actually buying

Not all land in The Gambia is held on the same basis, and the category affects what documentation should exist, how a transfer is properly effected, and what your rights are afterwards. Customary and state-administered land are not the same thing, and the paperwork that is appropriate for one is not automatically appropriate for the other.

This is precisely the point at which general guidance stops being useful. Establish which category your specific plot falls into and have a lawyer confirm the documentation is complete and correct for that category. Requirements and procedures also change over time, which is another reason to rely on current professional advice rather than on what applied to someone else’s purchase five years ago.

Warning signs worth walking away from

• Pressure to pay quickly, or a "another buyer is coming tomorrow" story.
• Reluctance to let you visit the plot, or repeated postponement of a visit.
• A strong preference for cash and no receipts.
• Documentation that is only ever shown as photographs, never produced.
• A seller who objects to you instructing your own lawyer.
• A price well below the area norm with no explanation that stands up.
• Boundaries that cannot be shown on the ground, or that shift between visits.
• A seller who cannot be found at any fixed address.

Any one of these justifies slowing down. Two together justify walking away. There will be another plot; there may not be another chance at the money.

After you buy

1. Complete the transfer documentation properly rather than leaving it "for later" — later is when it becomes difficult.
2. Keep every receipt, agreement and piece of correspondence, physically and digitally.
3. Wall the plot, or at minimum mark the corners permanently and visibly.
4. Visit periodically, or have someone do so, if you are not building immediately. Vacant unmarked land invites encroachment.
5. Keep any obligations attached to the land current.