On your journey, embarking to be a property owner in Kenya is crucial and you need to be sensitive so that you don’t fall to victims and con games which has seen several Kenyans lose tonnes of their hard-earned cash to some of the cons in the game.
It has been a common thing to hear about several investment schemes which are taking advantage of Kenyans who don’t have limited knowledge of the real estate industry; the majority of the victims have been those from the diaspora who invest blindly without doing intensive research and have a clue on how things are working on the ground. Here are some of the legal steps you should take when purchasing land in Kenya, sourced from Senior Investment Consultant Murithii Ngari.
1. Request a copy of the title deed or the original title deed. To confirm who the actual owners are or to see if the title has any caveats, conduct a search at the Ministry of Lands. The search will cost you Sh 520.
2. Check for any outstanding land taxes with local authorities. If applicable, decide who will settle the land rates—the seller. NB: If there are outstanding land taxes, land cannot be transferred.
3. Purchase two maps from the ministry of lands for Sh350 each. One will illustrate the precise dimensions of the piece you are purchasing, called a “mutation,” and the other will show the nearby lands.
4. Visit the land you’re buying and check the information on the MAP with your two maps, a surveyor (you can do it yourself), and the surveyor. Examine every beacon.
(Photo courtesy)
5. Bargain over the price with your seller. Make a written agreement. The agreement may be executed with legal counsel present. In accordance with LSK, if the land’s value is less than ksh1 million, you must pay the attorney ksh3K; if it is more than ksh1 million, you must pay the attorney ksh8K for the agreement. Refrain from connecting with hungry lawyers.
6. Pay a portion of the agreed-upon sum; do not pay the total amount at once.
7. Schedule an appointment with the Lands Control Board (LCB). Once a month, they get together. You must pay Sh 1000 for it.
8. after receiving LCB approval, pay the remaining payment.
9. To change ownership, visit the ministry of lands offices with your KRA PIN, two passport pictures, and a copy of the TITLE DEED.
You must pay Sh 5000 for it.
10. You don’t need the seller at this point. Go ahead and pay the stamp duty, which is based on the value of the land.
4% of sales value goes to municipalities, while 2% goes to reserves.
11. The land is now yours, but before you celebrate, check with the ministry of lands to see if their records have been changed and your name is listed
Follow us on IG https://www.instagram.com/monitor254blog/
