Conducting a land search before committing your money to a land deal is a crucial steps. How To Do A Land Search In Kenya Manually. Many people have lost their money to con schemes because they ignored this step and in the process, lost their hard-earned money. It is part of the due-diligence process that should be done by you, the buyer of the land before you make any payments. All land in Kenya is registered at the Ministry of Lands and you can conduct a search independently or through an advocate who is well versed in matters related to land.
There are two ways to conduct a land search in Kenya;
- Online via the e-Citizen portal
- Manually at the local Ministry of lands offices at the county level.
We shall discuss how to go about Manually.
While there have been efforts to digitize the land search process, you can still conduct a manual land search at the county level.
To do this, you will need to visit the local office with the following documents;
- A copy of your ID
- A copy of your KRA Pin certificate
- A copy of the title deed
- A filled search request form
Alway ensure you conduct a land search before you commit any money to buying a piece of land to avoid being conned.
The government has made the process easy through the e-Citizen portal which is available at your convenience.
How To Do A Land Search In Kenya Manually
- Visit the nearest Lands office, whether sub-county or county office.
- You will be issued with a land search form (Form RL 26) which you will be required to fill and submit.
- Attach a copy of the land title, KRA PIN and a copy of your ID.
- Proceed to pay the required fee which is Kshs 500 then wait for a confirmation message.
- After a few hours, you will get the land search results.
Land Registration FAQs
Advocate: means any person whose name is duly entered upon the Roll of Advocates or upon the Roll of Advocates having the rank of Senior Counsel and, for the purposes of Part IX of the Advocate’s Act, includes any person mentioned in section 10 of the said Act;
What is the role of an Advocate in the Registration process on Ardhisasa?
An Advocate on Ardhisasa acts as a witness on the output documents of Registration in addition to initiating the various processes on the platform;
Caution: means a notice in the form of a register to the effect that no action of a specified nature in relation to the land in respect of which the notice has been entered may be taken without first informing the person who gave the notice;
Charge: means an interest in land securing the payment of money or money’s worth or the fulfilment of any condition, and includes a subcharge and the instrument creating a charge;
Long Term Lease: means a contract between the registered Proprietor (Lessor)and the Lessee that entitles the lessee to a limited real right over the property in question for an agreed period of time ranging from 21 years to 99 years;
Registration of Personal Representative As Executor/ Administrator: means registering an individual(s) who will handle the property(ies) of a deceased on behalf of the beneficiaries of the said property(ies);
Restriction: means an interest registered under section 76 and includes the Registrar’s caveat;
Search: means an application made to confirm the ownership details and other interests that have been registered on that property;
Severance of Joint Ownership: means termination of joint ownership of a property and registering proprietorship in common ownership where every owner has a share to the property;
Short Term Lease: means a contract between the lessor and the lessee that entitles the lessee to a limited real right over the property in question for an agreed period of time not exceeding 21 years;
Stamp Duty: means tax levied on legal instruments, property and land transactions;
Transfer: means the passing of land, a lease or a charge from one party to another by an act of the parties and not by operation of the law and includes the instrument by which such passing is effected.
Land Administration FAQs
What are the commonly used terms?
Amalgamation: means consolidation/combining of two or more parcels of land into one, and may include the creation of a public access road, usually via a scheme plan;
User: means a series of operations on land, carried out by humans, with the intention to obtain products and/or benefits through using land resources. For example, Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural, Educational, and Recreational. Other special users include Hospitals, Hotels, Petrol Service Station (PSS), and Cemetery;
Change of User: means an application to change the initial/existing user to a proposed new use;
Extension of User the expansion to the limitation of rights on a parcel of land to allow the proprietor to use the said parcel for additional purposes;
Lease: the grant, with or without consideration, by the proprietor of land of the right to the exclusive possession of his or her land, and includes the right so granted and the instrument granting it, and also includes a sublease but does not include an agreement for lease;
Lessor: means a person who leases or lets a property to another; either the National Government, County Government or a proprietor;
Lessee: means the tenant of the lessor for a specified term under clearly set out conditions.
Extension of Lease: means legal agreement that extends the term of an existing lease before the term expires, outlining the need to continue using the property for another term.
Lease Processing: means the preparation of a legal document outlining the terms and conditions of the agreement between the lessor and the lessee.
Renewal of lease: means an application for another term once the existing term has expired.
Subdivision: means the division of one parcel of land into two or more parcels, and may include the creation of private or public roads.
