Marketplace & escrow rules

These rules apply to anyone who lists, buys, leases or pays through the Land Police marketplace or escrow, in addition to the terms of use.

Listing land

• Only the owner, or someone with written authority from the owner (for customary land, the family or community with the consents the law requires), may list a parcel.
• Each listing must match a parcel in our register, show the asking price and tenure, and disclose every dispute, charge, lease or occupation you know of.
• For customary land, a sale or long lease needs the consents required by the Customary Land Rights Act 2022, including the adult women and men of the family or community where the Act requires it. We will not complete an escrow without evidence of them.
• We check listings before they go live and may reject, pause or remove a listing that is inaccurate, disputed, or under investigation. A listing is marked “verified” only when the seller's identity and right to sell have been checked.
• A listing goes live once its fee is paid and runs for 30 days. Renew it to keep it live; an unrenewed listing comes off the marketplace at the end of its 30 days.
• Land Police does not own, value or guarantee listed land. Buyers must make their own checks, including an official search and a lawyer's advice.

Identity and anti-money-laundering checks

Land is a common way to launder money. To protect buyers, sellers and the register, before any escrow is funded we:

• verify the identity of buyer and seller (national ID, passport or company registration, plus proof of address), and of anyone paying or acting for them;
• identify the real (beneficial) owners of companies, trusts or groups involved;
• ask where the money comes from for large or unusual transactions, and apply extra checks to politically exposed persons;
• keep these records for at least 5 years after the transaction, as Sierra Leone anti-money-laundering law requires.

We will not accept cash into escrow. We may refuse or pause a transaction, and we report suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Agency, as the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Financing of Terrorism Act requires. The law does not allow us to tell you when we have made a report.

How escrow works

1. Agreement: buyer and seller agree the price, the parcel and the release conditions in writing on the platform.
2. Funding: the buyer pays the price into escrow. Escrow money is held in a separate client account at a licensed bank in Sierra Leone, never mixed with Land Police's own money, and is not used by Land Police for any other purpose.
3. Due diligence: we check the title, boundaries, conflicts and the seller's right to sell. If the parcel's risk is high, the escrow cannot move on until the problem is resolved.
4. Transfer: the conveyance or lease is executed and lodged for registration.
5. Release: when registration in the buyer's name is confirmed (or the agreed release condition is met), the money is paid to the seller's verified account, less any fee shown in advance.

When money goes back to the buyer

Escrow money is returned to the account it came from if due diligence finds a problem that is not fixed by the agreed deadline, the seller can't transfer good title, both parties cancel in writing, or a court or mediator decides so. While a dispute is open, money stays in escrow; neither side can withdraw it until the parties agree, mediation ends, or a court orders. Refunds of the escrow protection fee follow our refund rules.

Fees

The escrow protection fee (currently US$99 per transaction) and any percentage fee are shown before the escrow is created. No other charge is taken from escrow money.

Disputes

Disputes between buyer and seller can go to Land Police mediation, to the Chiefdom Land Committee for customary land, or to the courts. Mediation is voluntary and does not stop either side going to court. See complaints & disputes.

Version 1.3 · in force from 11 November 2026