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Squatting in the Caribbean

Barbados

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Belize

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Squatting in Belize is governed by chapter 98 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, which states "trespassing on private lands is illegal and subject to removal at the expense of trespassers."[1]

Adverse possession is theoretically possible after 30 years of possession of national land, or 12 years on registered land, but seldom occurs.[2][3]

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Cuba

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During the Cuban Revolution, when Fidel Castro's forces went into hiding in Oriente Province, they were in an area where 80 per cent of Cuban squatters resided. Over 20 per cent of farmers in the Sierra Maestra mountains in Oriente were squatters and they sympathized with the rebels, since both groups despised land-owners and the army. Castro encouraged this support by promising land to peasants if they were already cultivating it, by paying peasants for supplies and by eliminating bandits.[4] In this time period, 6 per cent of the residents of Havana were squatters.[5] By 1997, the New York Times estimated there were over 400,000 squatters in Havana.[6]

Dominica

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Adverse possession can be granted after 12 years of continuous and open possession of the property, with the intention of excluding others.[7] The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruled in 2019 that a squatter was entitled to gain title to a patch of land by adverse possession, after occupying it for over 12 years. It overturned the decision of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC).[8]

Dominican Republic

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In the Dominican Republic, UN-HABITAT estimated that 70 per cent of the population of half a million were squatting in Santiago de los Caballeros, the second largest city. One informal settlement is called Pekin and has around 60,000 residents. It was established between 1955 and 1974.[9] In 2018, the National District Attorney condemned squatting by "mafias" who were posing a threat to the stability of the state.[10]

Grenada

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Haiti

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Main article: Squatting in Haiti
Aerial view of homes
Cité Soleil in 2006

As Port-au-Prince grew, so did the informal settlements ringing it.[13] Cité Soleil was founded in 1958 to house workers, then grew rapidly to 80,000 people in the 1980s and 400,000 people in the 1990s. It became the largest slum in Haiti, housing people displaced from other areas.[13] Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 1.5 million people were displaced and efforts to help them were hampered by the devastation of the land registry.[14] One year later, 100,000 squatters had left the aid camps and were occupying land next to an official camp called Corail.[15]

Jamaica

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In Jamaica there are an estimated 750 squatted informal settlements.[16]

Trinidad

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In the middle of the eighteenth century, former slaves squatted cocoa plantations in Trinidad. People came from other Caribbean islands and also from Venezuela.[17] Eviction was difficult and some owners decided to sell off their land instead.[17]

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References

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  1. ^ Staff writer (12 May 2020). "Belize: Squatters will be punished". WIC News. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  2. ^ "AREBB - Association of Real Estate Broker of Belize". AREBB. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  3. ^ Dhillon, Bob; Langan, Fred. Business and Retirement Guide to Belize: The Last Virgin Paradise. Dundurn. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-4597-2072-5.
  4. ^ Domínguez, Jorge I. (1978). Cuba: Order and Revolution. Belknap. pp. 435–438. ISBN 9780674179257.
  5. ^ Coyula, Mario; Hamberg, Jill. "Urban Slums Reports: The case of Havana, Cuba" (PDF). Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  6. ^ Rohter, Larry (20 October 1997). "Cuba's Unwanted Refugees: Squatters in Havana's Teeming Shantytowns". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  7. ^ Riviere, William Para (11 March 2014). "Squatters' Rights". The Sun. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  8. ^ "CCJ upholds squatter's rights in Dominica land dispute". Jamaica Gleaner. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  9. ^ The Management of Revolving Funds for House Improvement Loans. HABITAT. 1991.
  10. ^ "Squatters, illegal evictions in the District Attorney's crosshairs". DominicanToday. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  11. ^ Smith, M. G. (1965). Stratification in Grenada. University of California Press. pp. 10–11.
  12. ^ Antoine, Rose-Marie Belle (2008). Commonwealth Caribbean Law and Legal Systems. Routledge. p. 186. ISBN 978-1-135-33385-0.
  13. ^ a b Beckett, Greg (2014). "The Art of Not Governing Port-au-Prince". Social and Economic Studies. 63 (2): 31–57. ISSN 0037-7651. JSTOR 24384086.
  14. ^ "Unclear land rights hinder Haiti's reconstruction". Thomson Reuters Foundation. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  15. ^ O'Neill, Claire (11 January 2011). "Tilt-Shift, Stop-Motion Squatting In Hillside Haiti". NPR. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Slum Almanac 2015/2016 Tracking Improvement in the Lives of Slum Dwellers" (PDF). UN-HABITAT. p. 52. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  17. ^ a b Clarence-Smith, William Gervase (2 September 2003). Cocoa and Chocolate, 1765-1914. Routledge. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-134-60778-5.
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