• Madagascar
  • Resources
  • Business Services
  • Access to Land
  • Access to Land

Access of investors to land ownership in Madagascar

Land legislation confers 3 land statuses:

  • land belonging to the domains of the State, decentralized communities and other legal persons governed by public law;
  • the land of private persons;
  • land constituting areas subject to a specific legal protection regime.

Brief overview of the problems related to access to land in general and to women's access in Madagascar :

  • The Malagasy legal framework grants women the same rights as men in terms of access, ownership and control of land, and allows them to participate in decision-making on land issues, yet in practice women remain in a situation of inferiority due to the persistence of certain customs and traditions. As a result, the number of women holding land in their names is a minority. Customary law, which is still practiced alongside constitutional laws, obliges women to access land through their fathers, brothers, husbands or other men.
  • In theory, Malagasy women have the right to conclude contracts in their own name such as credit agreements, real estate transactions, commercial transactions, etc. but they face several failures due to society's deep attachment to customs.
  • The laws governing access to land are complicated because they have been accumulated for several decades. They are only partially updated and are mainly written in French. Consequently, a limited number of citizens can have access to all of these texts and understand their spirit and procedures.
angle-left Access to land in Madagascar: Legislation

Access to land in Madagascar: Legislation

I- Related texts:

In Madagascar, the Constitution and a number of written laws recognize women's equal rights to property. Relevant laws include:

  • The Constitution of 2010 (art.6 and 34), guarantees to everyone the equal right to property and declares illegal the deprivation of property,
  • Law No. 2007-022 of August 20, 2007 relating to marriage and matrimonial regimes, guarantees both spouses the same rights and obligations, guarantees the spouses to jointly administer the property of the community, the spouses cannot alienate movable property and immovable without the consent of either.
  • Law No. 68-012 of July 4, 1968 relating to inheritance, wills and donations establishes the equality of men and women
  • Ordinance No. 60-146 of October 3, 1960 relating to land tenure, amended by Law No. 2003-029 of August 27, 2003, recognizes the right of the wife to claim rights on the property registered by the husband in the event of of fraud of his rights

II- Land legislation:

  • Law No. 2005-019 of October 17, 2005 establishing the principles governing the status of land, establishes the general principles governing the different legal statuses of all land on the national territory (whether land of domains public and private of the State and decentralized communities, or land belonging to private persons)
  • Law No. 2006-031 of 24 November 2006 establishing the legal regime for untitled private land ownership, the objective of which is to solve the problem of the existence of unregistered, unregistered land, but occupied by the allocation to the occupants of certificates of recognition of the right to untitled private property (or land certificates), which, if it is opposable to third parties until proven otherwise, has however a lesser legal value than a real land title
  • Law No. 2008-014 of July 23, 2008 on the private domain of the State, decentralized communities and legal persons governed by public law, which more specifically defines the legal regime for land in the private domain of legal persons governed by public law, as well as its implementing decree (decree no. 2010-233 of April 20, 2010)
  • Law No. 2008-013 of July 23, 2008 on the public domain, which more specifically defines the legal regime of the public domain of the State and decentralized communities

Links to find out more: Click here

III- Procedure for the acquisition of real estate by foreigners in Madagascar

All foreigners can obtain authorization to acquire real estate provided they present an investment program in Madagascar according to Law No. 2003-028 Decree No. 2003/897 on the organization and control of immigration and as well as Law n°2007-36 on investments.

Progress of a request for the acquisition of real estate by foreigners:

  • Filing of acquisition authorization request with the Economic Development Board of Madagascar.
  • Study by the government and the EDBM of the positive impacts of the project on the Malagasy economy and justification for the granting of land.
  • Authorization agreement decision taken in the Council of Government or in the Council of Ministers according to the precise conditions and methods.
share-alt