The Law consists of 7 Chapters composed of 67 articles dealing with the following matters: 1) general provisions (chapt. 1, arts. 1-8); 2) the unified land territory and its basic classification (chapt. 2, arts. 9-16); 3) the authority of the government bodies and local self-governing organizations regarding land issues (chapt. 3, arts. 17 – 23); 4) land management, land register and the unified land territory report (chapt. 4, arts. 24-26); 5) concession of land in ownership and lease (chapt. 5, arts. 27-51); 6) efficient and rational use of land and land protection (chapt. 6, arts.

This Regional Law regulates allotment of agricultural land parcels pertaining to public or municipal property and establishes minimum and maximum dimensions of the aforesaid parcels. Maximum land area of agricultural land parcel owned by a single natural or legal person shall not exceed 20 percent of the total agricultural land area within the boundaries of a given municipal unit.

This Act makes provision for the administration of (intestate) estates by persons appointed as administrators under this Act or by (probate of) will and also concerns other related matters of inheritance. Real estate (including lease) of a person dying intestate shall devolve in the manner provided by section 4, and the residuary estate of that person shall be distributed in accordance with section 54.

The Act provides that all deeds, conveyances, wills and instruments in writing whereby any land or interest in or affecting land other than land registered in accordance with the Registered Land Act, may be affected shall subject to compulsory registration in the Deeds Registry Office. The Minister may exempt certain leases from this requirement.

This Regional Law establishes rates of payment for short-term forest management of forest fund (public forest) and for calculation of lease payment for lease of land plots under forests. The following activities shall require compulsory payment: (a) timber extraction (applicable to standing timber); (b) procurement of non-timber forest products; (c) agro-forestry; (d) forest management for hunting, tourism, sport and other recreational forests.

This Act, consisting of 11 sections completed by one Schedule, aims to define certain aspects of forestry rights. "Forestry right" in this Act means a right granted by the owner of any land to any other person to: (a) establish, maintain and harvest; or (b) maintain and harvest crop of trees on that land, together with any ancillary rights and works; and (d) any provisions for charges, payments, royalties or division of the crop or the proceeds of the crop.

A Proclamation to provide for the utilization of urban land. Urban land is defined as all land within urban boundaries (art. 2). The Proclamation shall apply to urban land held by a permit system, or by lease-hold system, as well as by other means in force prior to those systems (art. 3). Urban land may be held in long-term lease by permit in accordance with plan guidelines, on auction or through negotiation on the basis of a decision of the Region or city concerned (art. 4). A leasehold deed shall be conferred upon a person who is permitted to hold land on lease.

This Law establishes that Council of local government shall have plenary powers and competence related to elaboration and validation of perspective programs on environmental protection and land-use planning, lease of public land, the modalities of land tenure and construction on land.

Amended by: Law amending Law “On local government”. (2005-03-02)

Articles 6, 9, 14, 30 have either been amended or new paragraphs have been added. The present Law also amends new articles of the Village Law of 1924, the Law on Natural Disasters 1959, and the Tourism Incentives Act of 1982. The formation of the technical teams is re-defined. The in-forest pastures and grazelands are re-defined by a committee set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and cannot be used for any other purposes unless their allocation purposes are modified.

Immovable property tax shall be imposed from 1 January 2007 upon land except for protected areas in which economic activity is prohibited by law. Immovable property tax regarding public land shall be paid by the user thereof, but if there is no such user – by the lessee. The immovable property tax rate shall be 1.5 per cent of the cadastral value of the immovable property. The taxation period of immovable property tax shall be the calendar year. The cadastral value of immovable property shall not include the value of forest.

This Act defines the right of legal action in respect of claims regarding real property and in particular an action to recover land.Actions include actions of tort and contract, limitation of actions to recover land, accrual of right of action in case of present interests in land, accrual of right of action in case of future interest, provisions in case of land held on trust and accrual of right of action in case of certain tenancies.

Section 10 of the State Lands Act is amended: (a) in subsection (1), by deleting the words “and every lease of State Lands”; and (b) by repealing subsections (2) and (3) and substituting the following subsection: “(2) Every lease of State lands under the Public Seal of Trinidad and Tobago shall be registered by the Registrar General in the same manner as a deed, on being tendered to him for that purpose.”.