ورغم أن هذا التشريع كان يسعى أيضا إلى ترشيد النظام العرفي لحيازة الأرض، فإنه لم يكن فعالا في هذا الشأن إلى حد كبير.
While it also sought to rationalize the customary land tenure system, it was largely ineffective in this respect and by the late 1970s, owing mainly to emigration, most of Pitcairn was owned by Pitcairn Islanders who no longer lived on the island.