Courtesy: A stock photo of a vacant land relevant with a title deed.
Are you planning on buying a piece of land to build your dream home? Well, when buying land here in Kenya, your ownership is not automatic just by your full payment for the land.
Ideally, paying for the property in full is only part of the whole process; however, to become a legal owner of the land, you need a special document known as a Title Deed.
A title deed is a signed agreement that proves ownership of land and legal rights to it. There exist different types of title deeds as per the various types of Land Acts that have been in existence.
After Land Registration Act, 2012 was enacted; we now have the following types of Title deeds in Kenya after consolidation of several titles into the certificate of title:
Types of Title Deeds
As of this writing, we have three types of Title deeds in Kenya as follows;
- Certificate of Lease
- Absolute Title deed
- Sectional Title deed
Absolute Title Deeds.
This type of Title deed is also known as Freehold Title. A Freehold title is where the landowner has the maximum rights to the land without any time period or any other restrictions. Nevertheless, once you have this type of Title Deed, the land is yours and has no conditions on ownership.
Certificate of Lease.
This is a title under the Registered Lands Act Cap 300 (repealed) for leasehold land.
This Title deed is also known as Leasehold Titles. Leasehold land is one where ownership of the land is subject to a definite period (maximum being 99 years). Other instances the maximum period is 999 years.
The lessee (occupant) holds rights to land for a specific period subject to conditions imposed on land rights by the lessor (landowner).
The period can be 33, 50, 66, or 99 years for all urban plots. Most areas in Nairobi County fall under this Lease Hold Titles.
Sectional Title Deed.
A developer issues a sectional Title deed is to a prospect to prove ownership for a unit within a building. Therefore, when buying a house in an apartment or a flat for example, the owners issues buyer with a sectional title deed as proof of ownership.
It emanates from the Sectional Properties Act of 1987 and the title will be registered under the Registered Lands Act Cap 300.
We hope this information on the different types of title deeds in Kenya was helpful. For any inquiries on the projects that we currently have, kindly get in touch with us via call/Whatsapp 0743606131
About Edgestone Real Estate, KE
Edgestone Real Estate, KE is one of the most interactive real estate brokerage firms of our generation based in Kenya. As a turnkey real estate brokerage, we facilitate property investors, buyers, sellers and renters to find land, houses and neighborhoods across the region through recommendations, local insights, and map overlays.
Edgestone Real Estate was founded in October 9th 2018, with over 5 years practical experience working with property buyers and sellers, either helping them buy or sell properties across the region.
Additionally, we work closely with reputable valuers, land surveyors, mortgage lenders, legal practitioners as well as insurance firms to provide clients with top notch services.