Land Rights, Land Tenure, and Urban Recovery - Rebuilding post-earthquake Port-au-Prince and Léogâne

Two years after the earthquake in Haiti, nearly 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) remain in tents and informal settlements in the earthquake zone. The reasons for this vary, but land rights and land tenure are central. A series of forced evictions in 2011 brought attention to the issue.

Recommendations for advancing the issue include supporting the Haitian government by increasing capacity in the land tenure system, and the modernization of the cadastral map and titling system. Land rights are only one edge of the tenure issue. Given the nature of the Haitian economy and the number of IDPs who were renters prior to the earthquake event, some consideration must also be given to improving tenancy rights as well.

The problems with Haiti's land tenure system predate the earthquake and were in fact amplified by it. Land rights in Haiti have long advantaged those with access to title, which is granted through surveyors, lawyers, and notaries. The legal system's inability to efficiently resolve land disputes and the outdated cadastral map all collude to further inhibit land rights.