THE BAHAMAS Law and Practice Contributed by: Alistair Chisnall and Erica Paine, Graham Thompson
By the beginning to mid-2023, rising inflation and the fears of a recession, coupled with stock market volatility and the drop in cryptocurrency values, had impacted the strength of the real estate market. Although demand and values have remained strong in particular ultra-high- end developments, the real estate market has otherwise returned to a much flatter or even declining trajectory characterised by more lim - ited inventory and softer values. At the same time the government of The Bahamas appears to be putting greater focus on ensuring a more equitable and stringent approach to the collection of revenue from the real estate sector. This has been seen for example in the exten - sion of legal remedies for the non-payment of real property taxes (together with the practical enforcement of such remedies) and in the intro - duction of a condo-hotel tax payable by owners who benefit from real property tax concessions for rental properties but who only achieve limited rentals and thus limited VAT revenue for govern - ment. 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 trans - action structuring through conservative and established practices. Although The Bahamas government previously sought to encourage the development of the digital asset space, includ - ing the establishment of a framework for the regulation of such business by the enactment of the Digital Assets and Registered Exchange Act in 2020, the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in late-2022, which had estab - lished its headquarters in Nassau, has led to a withdrawal from the promotion of this sector of
the economy, which is not expected to recover within the next 12 months. 1.3 Proposals for Reform The current government administration has stressed the importance of improving the “ease of doing business” as a priority in its agenda, particularly reform of land administration and tenure. In February 2022, a government-appoint - ed Land Reform Committee was constituted by The Bahamas government to review land-related issues for potential reform and make recommen - dations for consideration and advancement by the government. It is anticipated that propos - als will be put forward in the near future for the implementation of a system of registered land in The Bahamas. 2. Sale and Purchase 2.1 Categories of Property Rights Real estate can be held as freehold title absolute or leasehold. 2.2 Laws Applicable to Transfer of Title In The Bahamas, the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, 1909, principally governs the determination of title to real property and con - veyancing transactions. The title to condomin - ium units is governed by the Law of Property and Conveyancing (Condominium) Act, 1965 (as amended). The laws applicable to transfer of title do not vary between commercial and residential properties, but certain acquisitions by non-Bahamians would require prior govern - ment approval (see 2.11 Legal Restrictions on Foreign Investors ).
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