Squatting in Liberia

Squatting is one of three ways to access land in Liberia, alongside ownership by deed and customary ownership. The informal settlement of West Point in Monrovia was established in the 1950s and is home to between 29,500 and 75,000 people. Many squats are located near the coast; for example, 200 homes in New Kru Town were destroyed by a high tide in 2013. During Liberia's civil wars (1989–1997 and 1999–2003), displacement led many to squat in Monrovia, with some occupying abandoned buildings like the Ducor Hotel, which was evacuated in 2007. The government charged squatters an annual fee of $20, based on the 1957 Zoning Code, though this did not grant legal rights. By 2014, there were 27 squatted areas in Monrovia, including the Grand Masonic Temple and William Tubman's former palace. In Ganta, ex-soldiers squatted on land owned by Mandinka people, creating ethnic and religious tensions. From 2003, local councils sometimes granted rights to squatters, though this was inconsistent. For instance, the mayor of Ganta was forced to abandon her own squat in 2008 but did not evict others. Around 2,000 former LURD soldiers occupied a plantation near Sierra Leone, refusing to leave until offered retraining by the UN and supporting themselves by illegally tapping rubber. In the early 2020s, over 9,000 Burkinabés squatted on remote land in Grand Gedeh County. The Liberia Land Authority announced plans to digitally title all land in 2021, with the finance minister advocating for an end to the term "squatters." In late 2020, ...