Author: Peter Maina

In short, a joint venture between a landowner and a developer is the commonest way a plot in Nairobi becomes a block of apartments, and the commonest way a landowner ends up in the Environment and Land Court. The landowner contributes the land, the developer contributes the money and the building, and the landowner is…

In short, land you paid for which is registered in a relative’s name is, on the face of the register, the relative’s land. But the law recognises a trust in your favour where you supplied the money, a trust is an overriding interest which registration does not extinguish, and the Environment and Land Court declares…

In short, a buyer in Kenya should budget between six and seven percent of the purchase price on top of the price itself. Stamp duty at 4 percent in the towns and 2 percent in the countryside is the largest item, the advocate’s fee is set by a published scale which starts at 2 percent…

In short, a title deed in a seller’s hand proves almost nothing on its own. What proves ownership is the register at the land registry, the parcel file behind it, the map, the ground and the person, checked in this order and before any money changes hands. This article sets out the seven checks we…

In short, an official land search is the one document which tells you who owns a parcel today and what is registered against it, and for Nairobi and the counties which have moved onto Ardhisasa it is applied for online, costs a few hundred shillings and comes back within a day once the owner consents.…