How to buy land in Kenya… Don’t be conned
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Step #1. Identify a piece of land
This is the first step when you want to buy land in Kenya. Once you have a piece of land that you like, look for
the agent who is selling it. It will be good for you if you manage to meet the
seller directly. This will help eliminate middlemen.m
Step #2. Make arrangements for an official search
A search will help you confirm the following;
- You are buying land from the legal owner
- The land is free from impediments (e.g. charge by a bank, a caveat hampering sale or any other issue).
In Kenya, an official search can be done at Arthi House (Ministry
of land headquarters) in Nairobi or at the lands office at the district where you
want to buy land. To know where you need to go to have a search done, you have
to check whether the land you intend to buy is registered under LRA (Land Registration
Act) or RTA (Registration of Titles Act). If it’s LRA, then the search can only be done
at the district lands office. If it’s RTA, you have no choice but to go to Arthi
House, Nairobi. You will need a copy of your ID, Pin Certificate and title deed
of the land you intend to buy to perform a search
When you get positive results from the official search, then it
is time to move to the next stage.
Step #3. Obtain rates clearance certificate
This is a very important step when the land you want to buy
is registered under RTA. This certificate
is obtained from the local municipal council. Most people skip this step when buying
land in Kenya only to find out later that they bought a piece of land with
rates arrears that adds up to hundreds of thousands of shillings. Once you have
the rate clearance certificate, proceed to the next step.
Step #4. Ask you lawyer to prepare a sales agreement
Have your lawyer and the lawyer of the seller prepare the
sales agreement. It is also at this stage that you should pay deposit for the
land.
Step #5. Get all the completion documents from the seller
- The completion documents include;
- The original title deed with the name of the seller.
- Three copies of duly executed transfer documents (forms).
- Three passport photos of the seller
- A copy of pin certificate of the seller.
- A copy of the national ID card of the seller
- Rates clearance certificate.
Step #6. Pay the balance
You should only pay the remaining balance when you have confirmed
that you have all the necessary completion documents. Your attorney should confirm that all these
documents are authentic before you go ahead to make payments.
Step #7. File the transfer completion documents at the lands office
As you file the completion documents, make sure that you also
include a copy of your national ID, passport size photos and a copy of your pin
certificate.
After sometime, an inspector will visit the land you bought
for verification purpose. This may take a day or two. In some case, it may take
up to one month. Due to lack of transport in most cases, the buyer has to take
the inspector to the piece of land he/she bought.
Step #8. Stamp duty tax payments
The stamp duty tax is usually between 2% to 4% of the land’s
value. The fees depend on the location of the land. This money should be paid only
to the official account provided by registration of lands office.
Step #9. Issuance of a new title deed
This is the last step when you buy land in Kenya. The title
deed is collected at the lands office either by the buyer or the buyer’s
lawyer.
These steps describe how to buy land in Kenya. There might be
slight variations in some places. Always ask questions when any of these steps
is skipped. Otherwise, you may end up losing your hard earned money to conmen.
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