Procedure for Buying Land in Kenya
According to the constitution of Kenya, every citizen is given the right to acquire land anywhere in the country as long as he/she complies fully with the legal procedure of land buying.
Below is a step by step guideline to buying land in Kenya;
- Land identification
When choosing land, the potential owners should have in mind some criteria such as the location, access to social amenities, and even soil texture that suit their preferences.
- Land registry consultation
Once a piece of land that meets the above factors is identified, the prospective buyer ought to ask for a copy of the title deed from the seller to enable a confirmation search at the registry
The cost of this is usually Ksh. 500 and it only takes two hours.
Information obtained includes the owner of the deed acreage and any complaints registered against the deed.
- County office consultation
Any pending land rates that would otherwise be included in the buying price can only be indicated at the county office level.
In Nairobi County, this process costs only Ksh. 10,000 and it varies from one county to another.
Payment of land rates is a legal duty of any landowner and is ought to be cleared before disposal of property to someone else.
- Land rent clearance
The seller through his lawyer gets a land rent clearance certificate at the Commissioner of Lands office at absolutely no cost. It’s a process that usually takes 19 days.
- Acquire land maps
A surveyor usually at a cost of Ksh 500 can get the map of the land. One of the maps is usually an overview of the land while the other is drawn to scale.
The potential buyer is advised to then visit the land accompanied by the surveyor to verify the dimensions. Beacons should then be posted to avoid any future conflicts.
- Price and offer negotiations
The buyer would then ask an advocate to prepare a purchase offer with complete details of the buyer and the seller, a full description of the land, and the proposed purchasing price as well as the method of payment.
- Agreement of sale
This is prepared by the seller’s advocate and shows the terms of sale such as the names of both buyer and seller, price, documents to be supplied by the seller for land registration and ownership transfer facilitation.
The buyer’s advocate should be a witness during the signing of the sale agreement. The seller at a point can ask the buyer to pay the first deposit but it is not advisable until one gets clearance from the Land control board.
- Land control clearance
Comprises of area elders and county commissioners that make sure that land is transferred in a transparent manner e.g. without intimidation or torture. The cost usually is Ksh 10,000
- Valuation of land and stamp duty payment
Buyer ought to apply for valuation of land using the valuation form filled by the seller from a government land valuer. This is within three days. These documents would in turn be used by the land office to compute stamp duty payable. It is 4% of land value in urban areas and 2% in land value of rural areas.
- Transfer registration
Once stamp duty is paid and the balance cleared to the seller, all the stamped documents ought to be submitted to the registration at the Lands office. It usually takes 12 days to complete after which the owner would have been transferred completely.
