Land literacy

Buildings linked to the high and mighty in society have been reduced to rubble as the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) cracks on structures erected on riparian land. Shell Petrol station, Java Restaurant, South End Mall, all in Nairobi, are some of the major establishments whose owners have been left counting losses amounting to millions of shillings in this crackdown. There are...

WHAT IS LEASE EXTENSION? A Lease extension is granted by the government through the National Land Commission (NLC) when the lessee applies for an extension of term before the existing term has expired. A good example is the question above where the lease term of 99 years with effect from 1st January, 1920 still has 4 years before it expires. In this case if the lessee applies for an extension they...

Here are simple steps to be followed when constructing a house Obtain a Survey Plan from Survey of Kenya Obtain a project report from an environmental expert and submit to National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Obtain approval of the environmental impact study from NEMA Submit and obtain approval of the Architectural Plans – The required documents to be submitted are the following: i. The...

So you think with your title deed under lock and key your property is safe?  You pity those who get evicted and wonder how they got duped into buying someone else’s land. But just how safe are your important land ownership and transaction documents at the lands office? Just ask Mr Reuben Wamburu Karoba from Githiga in Githunguri, Kiambu County. In 2012, Mr Karoba was given a quarter-acre piece of...

When one needs to extend or renew a land lease an application is first lodged at the relevant County Government office within which the land is located. This means that the County Land Management Boards (CLMB) of the NLC will play a vital role. Before the same is approved the application is considered by the sections dealing with public health, roads, rates, water and sewerage among others. The...

  All application for land title deeds and transfer of ownership are done with the help of a lawyer. 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. Step 1:Obtain Official land search This stage is very important...

The biggest hurdles boil down to two main factors: the gradient of the slope and whether the site is upslope or downslope.  You can get a rough idea of how challenging a particular site will be to build on by its gradient rating. Less than 10% incline is considered slight and is the easiest to build on, while 11-20% is considered moderate. Anything above 20% is deemed steep. Beyond about 15%, costs...

INTESTATE SUCCESSION This is when there is no will left by the deceased (intestate). In case the deceased left one surviving spouse and a child or children, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to:- • The personal and household effects of the deceased • The intestate property but cannot sell this intestate property as the spouse is holding it on behalf of the children. If the spouse remarries,...

National Land Commission (NLC) will require the following preliminary information and documents to be provided by an acquiring body upon request before the land acquisition or easement can be procured. 1. Prior approval from their respective Cabinet Secretary before the NLC commences the acquisition process. 2. Cadastral drawings showing how the infrastructure cuts out each land parcel, the parcel list...

Searching the property portals definitely isn’t all you need to be doing if you want to be a savvy buyer. Discover all you need to know about the homebuying process. I would like to thank Andrew Taylor from the latest law jobs UK for his support and contribution on the conveyancing laws in England and Wales and James Radford from wowitloveithaveit marketing agency for all the help on the UK house...

Building Valuation of Building Valuation of a building depends on the type of the building, its structure and durability, on the situation, size, shape, frontage, width of roadways, the quality of materials used in the construction and present day prices of materials.  Valuation also depends on the height of the building, height of the plinth, thickness of the wall, nature of the floor, roof, doors,...

The issue of land in Kenya has always been an emotive and delicate matter to deal with. In some parts of this country, loudly talking about land is a threat to life. In such places, people only talk about land in hushed tones. Land has caused the loss of lives in some parts of this country. The ongoing operation to flush people out of the iconic Mau Forest, despite the fact that it is aimed at...

 This is unlawful. Interfering with the property of a deceased person is referred to as Intermeddling. To intermeddle means to interfere wrongly with property, or the conduct of business affairs, officiously or without right or title - Black’s Law Dictionary 6th edition.  In law, the intermeddler has no legal authority or power to transfer ownership of the property of a dead person. This is an...

Land buying follows the basic principles of law of contract. The seller is supposed to disclose any defects on the title, e.g. if it’s being used as a security against a bank loan. Land buying requires that all legal and contractual procedures are followed to avoid future conflicts, which may lead to double loss. Before investing your money on any piece of land, follow the following steps: Search at...

You have already seen several pieces and this is the one piece that you have settled on. Before you sign on the dotted line, before you make that bank transfer and allege that the land is now yours. Here are the most fundamental questions that you must have concrete answers without ambiguity:   Where is the land? (establish the physical location-might require presence of experts) What is...

WHAT RIGHTS DO WOMEN – MARRIED OR SINGLE- HAVE? • Women have a right to acquire and own land whether individually or as a group. • Daughters have the right to inherit their parents’ land and property. • Women have a right to be elected and or appointed into land governance institutions. • Married women have the right to joint ownership of land and property acquired during marriage. •...

You have decided to move away from renting to become a home owner. However, you are grappling with one key question: should you BUY a ready house or BUILD. You have spent months or even years agonizing over this. You have the price and perfect location and your wish list all figured out. But, the one thing you cannot figure out is the best way to get your dream home. When building makes sense The...

After years of toiling saving, and borrowing, you have built your own rentals. Congrats you are now a Landlord! You are now very careful about who occupies your houses. But sometimes things can go terribly wrong. You did everything right. But despite your careful screening, the tenant who seemed perfect turns out to be a nightmare. At some point, every landlord finds it's necessary to evict a...

Kenya is a prime real estate investment location for foreigners. Key investments for foreign investors are usually holiday homes, hotels, farms, ranches and conservation centres, houses and office parks. Foreigners employed in Kenya often wish to own homes and office space. When engaging in these investments, always look at the basic legal provisions addressing foreigners and property ownership. This...

The media has been awash with news of landlords welding tenants' doors and taking off roofs in a bid to kick out rent defaulters. A landlord also went viral after auctioning off one of his tenants' goods even though he still had the tenant's two-month rent deposit. What most tenants don't know is that they have legal rights that landlords shouldn't breach. Today, we look at what you can do when your...