Protecting Interests in Land which is Situated in Statutory and Improvement Areas in Zambia—Some Gaps in the Law

The right to property is a human right enjoying protection of the Zambian Constitution, subordinate legislation, and regional and international instruments. The article argues that if the cost of enforcing the said legal guarantees (protection from compulsory deprivation of property rights) in the said pieces of legislation and instruments is prohibitively high, that could amount to de facto (indirect) denial or violation of the right to property or the implicit right to realize a return on investment by disposing of the asset. The article examines the legal, regulatory and institutional framework for the registration of titles and interests in land which is situated in statutory and improvement areas in Zambia so as establish whether or not it provides adequate incentives for effective protection of the said titles and interests. The research employs economic analysis of law, and the doctrinal and non-doctrinalapproachesto assessing the effectiveness of legal and regulatory rules, and institutions for the registration of proprietary rights and interests in land which is situated in statutory and improvement areas in Zambia. The research uses both primary and secondary sources of data in analysing the problem which is under investigation. The main finding of the research was that the said legal, regulatory and institutional framework does not provide adequate safeguards for efficient protection of titles and interests in land which is situated in statutory and improvement areas. In particular, the results of the study show that (a) after repeal of Housing (Statutory and Improvement Areas) Act, most protective provisions such those relating to registration of titles, interests, charges, and the lodgement of caveats were not reproduced in the repealing and successor law—the Urban and Regional Planning Act 2015, (b) the cost of enforcing property rights and interests in land which is situated in statutory and improvement areas under the new legal, regulatory and institutional framework is likely to be much higher than the cost which would have been incurred under the old regime.