Are you buying or selling Land or Property?
At Biz Brokers Kenya, we offer you a fast and reliable Title registration service in Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado and Kisumu.
Transfer of title Deeds and Property in Kenya
- Search of title at the Land Office. Title search at Lands office takes an average of 3 days.
A copy of the title document, the PIN certificate and ID of the applicant is required to be submitted at the time of applying for the search.
Also, one cannot carry out a personal search but must instead apply for an official search.
- Obtain Rates Clearance Certificate from the County Government.
Upon payment of all outstanding Land Rates at the Local county governments and upon an application and payment of the prescribed fees. The respective County Governments shall issue a Land Rates clearance certificate.
- Obtain Land Rent Clearance Certificate from the Commissioner of Lands
Upon payment of outstanding Land rent and on application, the commissioner of lands issues a Land rent clearance certificate.
This certificate is proof that there are no outstanding fees to be paid to the County Government.
- Obtain Consent to transfer from commissioner of Lands
Upon payment and issuance of Both Land rent certificate and Land rate certificate, an application is made in writing to the commissioner of lands and the prescribed form executed for consent to transfer the desired property. Upon payment of the prescribed amount, consent to transfer is issued.
- File the transfer instrument at the Lands Office for assessment of stamp duty payable on the transfer
The transfer document, prepared by the buyers lawyer and approved by the vendors lawyer, is submitted for assessment of stamp duty at the Lands registry.
4% of property value (stamp duty)
The stamp duty amount to be paid is indicated when the application is filed, but it takes approximately 7 days to obtain the receipt of payment (obligated to pay with a banker’s check) from the bank. The payment is made directly at the Lands Office.
- Pick up bankers check and pay Stamp Duty
It is mandatory to pay the above-mentioned stamp duty with a bankers check. The payment is made through commercial banks and the approved banks include the Kenya Commercial Bank and The National Bank of Kenya. Payment is made to the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes on behalf of the Commissioner of Lands.
- Receive inspection by land officer
Once the draft transfer has been filed at the land office, an inspector visits the site to verify the development and state of the property. Due to lack of transport, in practice, the inspector often has to be picked up in person and driven to the site. There are no prior appointments made and the actual inspection may happen within one day or, in the worst case, one month. However, note that this time is not limited and in some cases entrepreneurs may wait months for a valuation.
- Obtain valuation of the property by Government valuers
The inspector visits the site to evaluate and verify the indicated purchase price of the property in order to ensure accurate tax payment. If the assessed value differs from the one indicated by the parties, an additional payment is requested.
- Lodge the completion documents with Lands Office for registration of the transfer
The completion documents are lodged for registration at the Lands Office. These documents are generally obtained from seller’s lawyers, these being original Certificate of Title, Rates Clearance Certificate, Land Rent Clearance Certificate, Consent Transfer.
Inform the seller;s lawyers of registration and pay balance of the purchase price.
The certificate of the registered transfer is collected at the Lands Office.
A foreign national can own, lease, buy, sell and invest in land in Kenya,
What type of land can foreigners own?
Foreign nationals may own or lease leasehold properties / land in Kenya,
Kinds of ways a Foreigner can own land in Kenya
- Personally. A foreigner may own land under his individual name
- Trust. A separate person or an entity may hold land on behalf of a foreigner
- Company – A foreign company may own property under its own name or a local company where a foreigner is a shareholder.
Business compliance is our specialty, Business startup is our passion. We are in the Business of Business.
Readability, Usability & Scalability