ANGUILLA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nina Rodriguez, Webster Legal
2.9 Condemnation, Expropriation or Compulsory Purchase The government may compulsorily acquire land under the Land Acquisition Act in instances where the land is required for a public purpose. Once the decision is taken by the government in council, a declaration (which shall include the description of the land, the public purpose for which it is required, etc) is published in two issues of the gazette, which is required to be posted on a building (if any) on the property or exhibited at suitable places in the area where the land is located. The land is automatically vested in the Crown upon the second publication of the declaration in the gazette. If the premises are occupied during the process, the occupier must be given seven days’ written notice if it is intended to enter upon the land for any reason. As soon as the declaration is made, persons with an interest in the land should con - tact the government and there should be negoti - ations for compensation upon reasonable terms and conditions. Compensation, if any, required to be paid based on the use of the land, shall be assessed and paid based on any actual damage suffered as a result of the acquisition. Such assessment is usually undertaken by a Board of Assessment. 2.10 Taxes Applicable to a Transaction A 5% stamp duty on transfer of land (or undi - vided share in land) and registration fees are customarily payable by a purchaser, who can negotiate with a motivated seller on any sale. If the purchaser is not an Anguillian, an Aliens Land Holding Licence (which attracts stamp duty of 12.5%) will be required from the govern - ment to legally acquire the property. If the land purchased by a non-Anguillian is undeveloped,
diligence prior to the completion of the transac - tion and purchases the real estate as is, where contamination is present and the buyer discov - ers this and fails to include terms in the contract, then the responsibility for remedial work will fall to the buyer. An Environmental Impact Assessment may be required depending on the scale and type of development. 2.8 Permitted Uses of Real Estate Under Zoning or Planning Law There is no zoning legislation save for the Spe - cial Economic Zones Act, which affects certain land, areas or locations in Anguilla declared as such by regulation by the Executive Council of the government. The Land Development (Control) Act, governs the development (building or rebuilding engi - neering or mining operations; making of material change in the use of building or land; subdivi - sion or alteration of the nature or the character of any land). The Planning Committee is, however, guided by the Proposed Anguilla National Land Use Plan, which was prepared in consultation with the United Nations Development Programme. Notwithstanding that there is no zoning legisla - tion, areas are identified by various designations such as: • institutional/commercial use; • resort; and • resort/residential. Refer to 2.6 Important Areas of Law for Inves- tors with respect to the specific development agreements with relevant public authorities.
42
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook