BAHAMAS Law and Practice Contributed by: Alistair Chisnall and Erica Paine, Graham Thompson
1. General 1.1 Main Sources of Law
Impact of Disruptive Technologies Real estate purchasers and developers have taken a guarded approach to the introduction of digital or decentralised purchase and finance technologies, and continue to approach transaction structuring through very conservative and long-established practices. Although The Bahamas government has sought to encourage the use of a new digital currency, “Sand Dollar”, the public and local businesses have been slow to embrace and utilise the new technology, to the extent that emerging technologies of such nature appear to not yet have made any practical or signifi - cant impact on domestic economic activity. 1.3 Proposals for Reform The year 2025 was a watershed year for real estate law in The Bahamas and conveyancing practice. After three years of preparatory work by the National Land Reform Committee and on its recommendations, The Bahamas Parliament enacted the Adjudication of Land Act and the Land Registration Act. The potential importance and seismic effect of the new legislation on the real estate industry is hard to understate, with the changes set to revolutionise land law in The Bahamas, comparably to what occurred in 1925 in the United Kingdom and followed in many other Common Law jurisdictions with the adoption of registered title. Whilst an appointed date has not yet been set, as The Bahamas government finalises the plans for the infrastructure and personnel to manage the new Land Registry to be established, it is anticipated that the new system will be implemented in the near future, to progressively arrange for the progressive and sys - tematic registration of title by survey of selected areas, adjudication of title in those areas, and the registration of adjudicated title. Given that the new legislation contemplates a phased, systematic process for adjudication and registration of title by area (in comparison to “sporadic registra - tion”, which is triggered by an event or disposition, as adopted in the UK and other jurisdictions), it will be the case that the new legislation will only relate to pockets of registered land areas whilst the new system is in its infancy. The current law and conveyancing practice in
The Bahamian legal system is based on the English common law system. The main sources of real estate law are local legislation, local case law and case law from Commonwealth jurisdictions. 1.2 Main Market Trends and Deals Strong investor interest and confidence, and high touristic activity, were telltale features of 2025. In a continuation of the general trends evident in recent years since the recessionary pause caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, interest in all levels of resort/residential offerings, and strong local employment and economic benefits from the well- performing tourism and construction sectors, have helped The Bahamas continue to show a positive and stable economic outlook and enjoy modest growth of the economy. As evidence of such significant investor confidence, in 2025 a USD1.9 billion dollar refinancing of the Atlantis Resort Paradise Island (one of the country’s major flagship resorts) was completed, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines opened its new USD200 mil - lion “Royal Beach Club” cruise port. Similarly, plans were announced by MSC Cruises of a BSD450 mil - lion investment to develop cruise berthing at Freeport Harbour with cruise retail and beach club amenities; of a joint venture between Freeport Oil Company Ltd (FOCOL) and Shell to develop a USD200 million LNG- to-power facility at Clifton Pier Nassau; and by the Baha Mar Resort to embark on a BSD700 million new hotel and condominium complex as a Phase 3 Expan - sion of the current resort facility. Whilst the pace of private client sale and purchase real estate transactions has undoubtedly slowed in com - parison to recent years’ activity, the market appears to have stabilised at an active and healthy level relative to prior periods. However, in the background of such activity, concerns continue to be raised of increas - ing taxation, shortages in the local housing market, strains on current infrastructure, and challenges for buyers in the domestic market to obtain credit or com - plete transactions on a timely and cost-effective basis.
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