This is the process of transfer of land from one person to another. This is done at Ardhi house in Nairobi or in the respective Land Offices in local district/ Sub County. One is required to pay the applicable stamp duty (4% for land within townships and 2% for property in the outskirts. Thereafter submit the duly filled application for registration together with the following documents.
Required documents
- Original Title Deed/Certificate of lease.
- Duly executed Transfer of Land Forms (Form LRA 33) in triplicate in respect to the Property in favor of the Purchaser.
- Certified copies of the Vendor’s and Purchaser’s KRA PIN Certificates.
- Certified copies of the Vendor’s and Purchaser’s National Identity Cards.
- 3 passport size-colored photographs of the Vendor and Purchaser.
- Original Land Control Board Consent to Transfer the property and the consent applications thereof.
- Spousal consent or affidavit confirming that the property doesn’t form part of matrimonial property.
For foreigners (non-citizens) we need the following:
- Foreign national registration certificate - alien card (copy) For foreigners who are residents in Kenya.
- Passport (copy) for the applicant if a non-citizen.
The transfer process takes approximately 21 days to complete, depending on the efficiency of the registry. After registration, we will apply for a post-registration, land search showing that the land has been transferred to the new owner. A search at the Lands office takes an average of 3 days.
Our lawyers at dmklaw.co.ke will handle the legal aspects of property transfer and the Lawyer’s fees depend on the value of the land and the complexity of the transaction.
Procedure of Land Transfer
1. Land search/due diligence
After the land seller and buyer agree on the terms of sale the buyer will start the process of due diligence. Land search is the first step towards due diligence. The search shows the status of the property e.g. The name of the owner, any charge on the property as collateral for a bank loan, any caution, caveats, restrictions registered against the land.
To do a search, submit a duly filled search application (Form LRA 84) and attach a copy of the title document, copy of your national identity card and KRA PIN certificate. The land search at Lands office takes an average of 3 days.
After the search, one is issued with a stamped Certificate of Official search (Form LRA 85) showing the status of the land.
Kenya land administration is devolved into 47 counties and each county has a land registry. The search and subsequent transfer is done at the respective county where the land is situated with an exception of a few leaseholds whose records are held at Ardhi house despite the land being outside of Nairobi.
Additional due diligence
- Confirmation of land size- obtain the registry maps and mutation. Also, confirm that the land is situated where the vendor showed you.
- Do a site visit of the land- Confirm the soil type, the topography of the land.
- Use of the land- Confirm the approved land use. You can change to your intended, use through the change of user process if need be.
- Talk to neighbours to find out if the land has any dispute. History of the land
- Confirm on the beacons on the ground.
2. Obtaining completion documents/transfer documents
- Land Rates and rent clearance certificates
Before buying land, it’s advisable to ensure there are no rates and rent arrears.
Land Rates are payable to the county government where the land is situated. Every county has its own land rates for charging land rates.
Land Rent is payable to the national government for leaseholds. The amount of rent payable is always indicated in the title document.
Upon payment of all outstanding Land Rates, the County Government will issue a rates clearance certificate confirming that there is no outstanding rates payment. Note that there are additional fees payable to the County Govt for issuing the clearance certificate and upon an application and payment of the prescribed fees. The respective County Governments shall issue a Land Rates clearance certificate. The Land rates clearance certificate once issued is valid for three months.
Upon payment of outstanding Land rent and on application, the commissioner of lands issues a Land rent clearance certificate. The land rent clearance certificate once issued is valid up to the end of the year of the land rent application (31st December of every year).
3. Apply and Obtain Consent to transfer from Land Control Board
For transfer of freehold land, one requires a land control board consent. The application for consent is made in writing form. Each sub-county has a land control board that sits once every month to approve the land transfer applications or on special occasions upon the request of the seller of the land. The landowner/seller is required to attend the board in person. If one is married, the board members may insist that the seller be accompanied by the spouse or present an affidavit of spousal consent. The rationale behind this is to ensure the matrimonial property is transferred with the consent of both spouses. This process takes about ten days.
Documents needed when making the application for the consent to transfer
LCB consent application forms in triplicate, copy of ID and KRA PIN Certificate of the vendor and buyer, a passport photo of the vendor.
4. Valuation for stamp duty by the government land valuer
Land transfer is a major source of revenue for the government. The lawyers for the purchaser usually prepares the transfer instrument and the vendors lawyers reviews approves the same before signing of the by the purchaser and vendor.
Once executed, the transfer instrument is filled at the land’s office to be assessed for Stamp Duty. The stamp duty is 4% of property value property in urban areas and 2% for rural lands area. The government valuer indicates the valuation amount upon which the stamp duty payable is assessed. The valuation process takes around takes 7 days to be complete.
Once the duty is assessed, the purchaser through their lawyers will login to the Kenya Revenue Authority Itax portal and process the stamp duty payment slip which will be presented to the bank for payment of the requisite stamp duty. Note that stamp duty must be paid directly to the bank(s) account approved by KRA and receipt issued by the bank. Payment is made to the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes on behalf of the government. It’s important to note that it’s a criminal offence to evade paying stamp duty for transfer of land.
- Franking for stamp duty
After payment of stamp duty, the transfer documents are submitted for franking to confirm that the stamp duty paid on those documents have been paid and duly received by the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes. It is advisable to always have the transfer documents franked before filling them for registration of the transfer.
5. Land registration/ transfer
- Fill the application for the registration form, commonly as booking form (LRA 9).
- Pay the requisite registration fees for title registration.
- Lodge the documents at the relevant land registry for registration of the transfer in favour of the purchaser and follow up with registry for issuance of a new title deed in the name of the purchaser. The old title deed in the name of the former owner/seller is mutilated by the registry once a new one is issued.
The process takes approximately seven to thirty days depending on the efficiency of the registry.
After a successful registration the purchaser will receive the following documents for their records.
- The original title deed with the name of the purchaser
- Duly franked and Registered transfer instruments
- Original post registration search
6. Post registration search.
It is recommended to conduct a post registration search to confirm that the land is registered in your name and that the details of the purchase have been entered correctly in the register.
7. Collection of the title document by the purchaser
After our lawyers (dmklaw.co.ke) have completed the process of transferring the title to you can either collect the title documents form our offices or we can organize to send the same to your address wherever you are either in Kenya or abroad.
Purchasing of land through financing institutions.
A number of financial institutions do offer their clients loans in order to help them purchase a property. This will be done through having the property transferred and registered in favour of the purchaser and a charge in favour of the financincing institution. Here our lawyers (dmklaw.co.ke) will be issued with a suitable professional undertaking by the financier to secure the payment of the purchase price.
Transfer in respect to houses and apartments
The above transfer process is the same for both land and houses save that for house we will need to verify the building approvals which include nca approvals.
