<![CDATA[This study examines the socio-legal phenomenon of land transfer transactions conducted informally or underhand by residents of Sungai Buluh Village, West Singkep. The basic premise of this study is based on empirical facts where local communities tend to ignore the involvement of Land Deed Officials (PPAT). This tendency is triggered by the collective perception that the formal system is bureaucratic and complicated, so conventional methods that rely on mutual trust, customs, and time efficiency are the main choice. Normatively, this practice creates a legal dichotomy. On the one hand, Article 37 of Government Regulation No. 24 of 1997 concerning Land Registration requires an authentic deed from a PPAT as an absolute requirement for administrative legality at the land office to ensure legal certainty. On the other hand, this study aims to explore the root causes of people's persistence in old patterns and to map the legal risks that threaten their ownership rights. By adopting a normative-empirical legal methodology, this study synchronizes the agrarian regulatory text with social realities obtained through field studies and in-depth interviews. The research underhand transactions are materially valid according to Article 1320 of the Civil Code, but have a weak formal standing based on Articles 1874-1880 of the Civil Code if an administrative dispute occurs. However, from a formal legal perspective, the proof of ownership is weak because it does not have perfect (authentic) evidentiary power. As a result, buyers do not have absolute legal protection in the event of a lawsuit from a third party or inheritance dispute in the future. In conclusion, dependence on these informal sales and purchases places the community in a vulnerable position to legal uncertainty.]]>
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