Duplicate Title Registration Fraud in Jamaica: When Two Certificates Claim the Same Land

• Duplicate certificates of title are legitimately issued when the original is lost or destroyed.
• Fraudsters have obtained duplicate titles using false statutory declarations of loss.
• A duplicate title can be used to sell or mortgage the same property a second time.
• The NLA maintains a register of duplicate titles issued; both instruments appear in the system.
• Attorneys and buyers should verify whether a duplicate exists before completing any transaction.

Under the Registration of Titles Act, a registered proprietor who has lost or had their certificate of title destroyed may apply to the National Land Agency for the issue of a duplicate certificate. The process requires the applicant to swear a statutory declaration confirming the loss, to publish notice of the application, and to satisfy the NLA that the original cannot be located. When the process is followed properly, it provides a necessary remedy for genuine cases of loss. The problem arises when the process is abused: a person who has fraudulently obtained possession of a property — or who has an interest in re-running a transaction — may swear a false declaration of loss in order to obtain a duplicate certificate, which they then use as the basis for a fraudulent sale or mortgage.

How Duplicate Title Fraud Operates in Practice

In documented cases, duplicate title fraud has taken several forms. A fraudster with access to an elderly or absent owner’s personal information has sworn a statutory declaration on their behalf, falsely claiming that the original title has been lost. The resulting duplicate has then been used to execute a transfer or mortgage without the true owner’s knowledge. In other cases, properties that have already been sold are the subject of a second fraudulent sale using a duplicate certificate, leaving two purported purchasers claiming the same land. The NLA records both the original and the duplicate in its system; a thorough title search should disclose the existence of a duplicate. However, if the search is conducted carelessly or the duplicate has only recently been issued, this fact may not be apparent before the fraudulent transaction is completed.

Safeguards and Verification Steps

The primary protection against duplicate title fraud is a thorough and current title search conducted at the NLA immediately before any transaction is completed. Attorneys acting for buyers or mortgagees should specifically instruct their searchers to confirm whether a duplicate certificate has been issued, and to note the date of any such issue. Where a duplicate has recently been issued, the transaction should be paused until the circumstances of the duplicate application can be fully investigated. Any person who believes they have been the victim of a false duplicate application should report the matter to the NLA and the Jamaica Constabulary Force immediately, as the false statutory declaration itself constitutes a criminal offence under the Perjury Act.

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