LAND DEVELOPMENT (PROTECTION OF PURCHASERS) ACT - 1960 (ACT 2)

• Section - 1 - Power To Cure Defective Titles

  • (1) Where-
    
    (a) a person (in this section referred to as "the purchaser") has taken a conveyance of land in a prescribed area at any time after 31st December, 1944 (whether before or after the date on which the area became a prescribed area), and
    
    (b) the purchaser or a person claiming through him has in good faith erected a building on the land, and
    
    (c) proceedings are brought to obtain a possession order in relation to the land on the ground that a person other than the purchaser or a person claiming through him is entitled to the land,
    
    the court, where it considers that if this Act had not been passed the possession order would fall to be made by reason that the conveyance taken by the purchaser did not operate to confer on him the title to the land, but that to make the order would cause hardship and injustice to the person against whom it would fall to be made, may, instead of making the possession order, make an order providing that the conveyance taken by the purchaser shall be deemed for all purposes to have operated to confer on him the title to the land.
    
    (2) Where an order is made under the preceding subsection and the court considers that the order would by itself cause hardship and injustice to any person, the court may make a further order requiring the person in whose favour the order under the preceding subsection is made to pay to that person a sum of money by way of compensation:
    
    Provided that the aggregate of any sums ordered to be paid under this subsection shall not exceed an amount equal to twice the value of the land at the date of the purported conveyance to the purchaser.
    
    (3) The court may exercise the powers conferred by this section in any proceedings notwithstanding that the proceedings were instituted before the commencement of this Act, and, in proceedings on appeal, notwithstanding that the decision appealed against was given before the commencement thereof.

• Section - 3 - Provisions As To Payments

  • An order requiring the payment of any sum under this Act may provide that the sum shall be payable by instalments or on a future date specified in the order, and may further require the giving of security for any sum payable under the order.

• Section - 4 - Interpretation

  • (1) In this Act-
    
    "conveyance" includes a transfer of land by customary law;
    
    "possession order" means an order requiring the delivery up of possession of land or setting aside a conveyance or making a declaration of title or otherwise in defeasance of title to land;
    
    "prescribed area" means an area prescribed for the purposes of this Act by a legislative instrument made by the Minister responsible for Lands.
    
    (2) For the purposes of this Act a person shall be deemed to have erected a building if he has carried out the greater part of the work required for the erection thereof.