boundary survey NLA Jamaica

The National Land Agency has renewed its warning to Jamaican landowners about boundary disputes arising from surveys carried out by unlicensed individuals and outdated cadastral maps, urging property owners to use only licensed surveyors registered with the Land Surveyors Board.

Fraudsters are producing and submitting forged survey plans to the National Land Agency that misrepresent the boundaries of registered parcels, claiming larger areas than are recorded in the official register and using those plans to support title transfers, subdivisions, and development applications.

Fence creep — the gradual movement of boundary fences, walls, and pegs into a neighbouring property — is a common form of land encroachment in Jamaica that can, if unchallenged for long enough, ripen into an adverse possession claim. Landowners are urged to survey their boundaries regularly and act promptly on any encroachment.

Buyers across Jamaica are discovering after purchase that they have received significantly less land than was stated in the sale agreement and marketing materials. Measurement misrepresentation — whether deliberate or negligent — is actionable, but prevention through independent survey before purchase is far more effective than litigation after.