Know Your Rights
Our Beach Laws
Our Current Beach Rights
Bahamas Public Parks & Public Beaches Authority Act (Ch. 26A)
This Act sounds like it should protect beach access — but it doesn’t.
There is no automatic right for the public to access the beach, no requirement to keep pathways open, and no penalties for anyone who blocks long-used routes.
What the Act does provide is limited but important:
- It creates the Authority to designate, manage, and maintain public beaches and parks.
- Government can secure access — but only if it chooses to — through agreement, vesting, or acquisition.
- The Authority oversees safety, cleanliness, lifeguards, and conservation on officially designated public beaches.
- It includes restrictions and penalties for damaging plants, structures, or public facilities.
What’s missing?
A right for the Bahamian people to reach the public beach they already own below the high-water mark. Without that, access remains inconsistent, unprotected, and vulnerable to fences, gates, and private control.
Helpful sections: s.2 (definitions), s.5 (functions), s.12 (acquisition/vesting), s.26 (declaration), s.27–30 (restrictions/penalties).
Here Is What Changed
Timeline & Impact: Land Ownership and Beach Access
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Purpose Immovable Property (Acquisition by Foreign Persons) Act, 1981The Act required non-Bahamians to obtain a permit before purchasing land — including coastal land. This slowed the rapid private takeover of the shoreline and helped keep more beachfront property in Bahamian hands. Because Bahamian landowners traditionally allowed long-used community footpaths and boat-launch routes to remain open, the Act indirectly helped protect beach access by limiting large-scale foreign acquisition of the coast. |
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Repealed: Jan 1, 1994 The Safeguards Disappeared OvernightWhen this Act was repealed, non-Bahamians no longer needed permits to purchase coastal land, making it far easier — and faster — for large stretches of shoreline to be bought, consolidated, and fenced off. Because The Bahamas has no law protecting public access routes, the repeal meant:
In effect, the repeal removed a barrier that once slowed the private takeover of the shoreline — and it happened without any new protections to secure the public’s right to reach the sea. |
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Replaced By International Persons Landholding Act, 1993/94The Immovable Property Act was replaced with a far more permissive law — one that removed the permit requirement and made it simple for non-Bahamian individuals and corporations to purchase coastal land with minimal oversight. This shift accelerated private ownership along the shoreline. And because The Bahamas still does not protect public access routes in law, each new acquisition increased the risk of:
The new Act opened the door wide for coastal development — but without a matching law to protect how Bahamians reach the sea, public access became more vulnerable than ever. Read Springer Context Regarding Immovable Property Act → Read An Editorial View On How Removing This Act Is Impacting Our Country → |
Public Rights vs. Private Ownership
How We Are Legally Able To Use & Access Our Beaches
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✅ Public Zone Foreshore — the wet sand between the high-water and low-water marks This area is public. You can walk, swim, fish, and recreate there. No one can own it. |
⚠️ Private Zone Above the high-water mark This land can be private. You cannot cross private property to get to the beach unless a public right-of-way already exists, or the government has formally secured access. |
Bottom line:
A beach can be public — but if the path to reach it is private, fenced, or blocked, the public loses access in practice. This is why The Bahamas urgently needs legally protected, mapped, and enforceable access points.