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The Nitty Gritties of Obtaining A Valid Title
The Nitty Gritties of Obtaining A Valid Title
The Nitty Gritties of Obtaining A Valid Title
Kenya has 47 counties and each county has a different land rates details. Some of the steps of
acquiring a land title deed can be done on-line while others are done in person. The steps of
acquiring a land title deed are as follows.
1. Apply In-Person:
o This is done at the ministry of lands and physical planning headquarters
or in any of their Land Offices in local district/ Sub County. One is
required to pay a fee of Ksh 500 for the search; submit a duly filled
search application (form RL 26) and attach the copy title document. The
land search at Lands office takes an average of 3 days.
o After the search one is issued with a stamped Certificate of Official
search (form RL 27) showing the status of the land.
o Required documents
2. Apply On-line
How to do an online land search in Kenya
Apply, pay and obtain rates clearance certificate from the County Government.
This is done by the seller’s lawyer through consulting the local county government lands
office. The whole process can take five days at the cost of Ksh. 10,000. This certificate
proves that there are no outstanding fees to be paid at the City County’s office. Lawyer’s
fees are calculated according to the value of the land.
Upon payment of all outstanding Land Rates at the Local County Governments and upon
an application and payment of the prescribed fees. The respective County Governments
shall issue a Land Rates clearance certificate.
Apply and Obtain Land Rent Clearance Certificate from the Commissioner of Lands
Upon payment of outstanding Land rent and on application, the commissioner of lands
issues a Land rent clearance certificate. This certificate is proof that there are no
outstanding fees to be paid to the County Government
File the transfer instrument at the Lands Office for assessment of stamp duty payable
on the transfer
The draft transfer is done by the buyer’s lawyer and the transfer instrument has to be
approved by the seller’s counterpart before it’s filled at the land’s office to be assessed for
Stamp Duty. After the lawyers approval the instrument is submitted for assessment of
stamp duty at the Lands registry .The stamp duty is 4% of property value for urban lands
and 2% for rural lands. The stamp duty amount to be paid is indicated when the
application is filed, but it takes approximately 7 days to obtain the receipt of payment
(obligated to pay with a banker’s check) from the bank. The payment is made directly at
the Lands Office.
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This Stamp Duty is payable online via the KRA Itax portal
Lodge the completion documents with Lands Office for registration of the transfer
The franked transfer documents are lodged for registration at the Lands Office. The
seller’s lawyer obtains these documents which include; original certificate of Title, Rates
Clearance Certificate, Land Rent Clearance Certificate and the consent transfer. This
process takes 12 days.
KENYAN ADVOCATES
ADVOCATES
Eligibility
The validity of holding a Kenyan title deed depends on the land tenure it is under. This is the
right or period of holding land. There are two types of land tenure system in Kenya:
Freehold: It is the greatest interest a person can have on land as it gives the holder
absolute ownership of the land for life. This means descendants can succeed the
owner for as long as the family lineage exists. A freehold title deed generally has no
restrictions as to the use or occupation. However, there are conditional freeholds,
which restrict the use of the land, for instance, for agricultural purposes or ranching
only. A freehold interest is also known as fee sample or absolute proprietorship.
Leasehold: This is the interest in land for a specific period subject to payment of a fee
or rent to the grantor. Payment of rates is made to the respective county governments
for services rendered. Leases are granted by the Government for public land, local
authority for trust land and individuals with freeholds. The maximum term of
government leases is 99 years.
Documents to Use
Sample Documents
Processing Time
Approximately 90 days.
Instructions
It is important to go through all the processes of land Title deed acquisition when buying a piece
of land. A lawyer usually is hired for this.
A summary of the application process is as follows:
A. Obtain official land search 1. Pay for land search 2. Submit application for official land search
3. Obtain official land search B. Obtain land transfer documents 4. Contract an advocate 5.
Submit request for land transfer documents 6. Obtain land transfer documents C. Obtain
valuation for stamp duty 7. Submit request for land valuation 8. Site visit for valuation 9. Obtain
valuation for stamp duty D. Stamp duty payment 10. Obtain payment slip 11. Payment of stamp
duty 12. Submit documents for franking 13. Obtain franked documents E. Land registration 14.
Pay registration fees 15. Submit documents for registration 16. Obtain registered documents
Required Information
A Land Title Deed is a legal document showing evidence of ownership of land. In Kenya Land
Title deeds are issued by the Deeds Registry under Ministry of Lands.
It also shows the type of tenure the land is under; if its freehold or leasehold.