Sark, one of the lesser known Channel Islands, is introducing major land reforms on 1 February 2021.

Land Reform (Sark) Law, 2019 will bring sweeping changes to the principles of land ownership in Sark – principles which have stood for over 400 years.

According to offshore law firm Collas Crill, the law will provide the framework by which Sark's forty tenements can be subdivided into smaller parcels which can be conveyed, disposed of in a will and/or mortgaged.

Leasehold interests in land within a tenement of twenty or more years will also be able to be mortgaged.

The current laws date back to 1565...