Difference between Sub-division and Amalgamation

A person may want to sub-divide land due to various reasons. It may be because he wishes to leave different portions to each of his or her beneficiaries as inheritance or wants to raise funds for personal reasons or wants to sell the parcels as small portions of the original.

All these and many more reasons may push someone into selling or sub-dividing their land. So as to get higher returns on land, most people prefer sub-dividing and selling their land as smaller pieces rather than as a block.

Amalgamation in relation to land refers to the combination of two or more contiguous or adjoining parcels of alienated land. These parcels are under separate titles and when combined the land is held under a single title.

Sub-division in relation to land is the division into two or more plots. The purpose of division is to split a large tract of land into smaller units that are easier to develop. They can be developed individually or independently to increase growth and maximize the use of space. Sub-division speeds up the zoning process and the selling of the land, resulting in a fully completed area, which is divided into various smaller areas.

Sub-division schemes are prepared by a registered Physical Planner with valid practicing license from the Physical Planners’ Registration Board (PPRB).

Requirements

Application to subdivide is lodged at the relevant Sub County Planning Office land must be accompanied with:

1. Form PPA₁ duly filled appropriately;
2. Ownership documents and certificate of official search or any other evidence of land ownership status from the respective Land Registry;

The search is important because it enables you to ascertain ownership of the land, and whether there are any encumbrances on the land, for instance, it might have been used to secure a loan.

• Survey map/Registry Index Map (RIM);

The RIM is a map that covers a large geographic area in which the land to be subdivided lies. After getting the maps, the surveyor makes a site visit to make measurements to ascertain the ones indicated on the map are exact on the ground.

The surveyor then prepares a subdivision scheme, which must be signed by a registered physical planner who, once satisfied with the surveyors’ plans, gives a Physical Planning Act form commonly known as PPA 1. The subdivision’s blueprints are then taken to the county lands office for approval, after which a PPA2 form is issued.

1. At least 4 copies of subdivision scheme plan duly signed by the developer and the submitting planer;
2. Consent to subdivide from the Land Control Board; (freehold land)

The land control board is a meeting of local elders who sit at the district level (now sub-counties) and approves all land transfers in their area. A meeting with the land control board must be booked at least two weeks in advance, and the board sits only once a month.

1. Copy of Consulting Planner’s current practicing certificate;

During the meeting with the land control board, a land owner is typically asked what their intentions of subdividing the land are. He/she is required to present himself/herself in front to the board with their spouse for him/her to give consent.

• Copy of land rates payment/clearance

Once the boundaries are marked, both the land owner and the surveyor are required to sign three copies of the Mutation Form, which are further signed by a more senior surveyor, known as the licensed surveyor. The mutation forms, together with the search document, the consent form from the Land Control Board, the PPA1 and the PPA2 forms are then deposited with the district survey office, where a cartographer allocates new plot numbers to the subdivided plots. The same documents are then taken to the respective land county registries to allow the land registrar to register the titles.  Copies of the mutation forms certified by the land registrar are then deposited with the Survey of Kenya to allow for the amendment of the maps.

 Professional and statutory cost

The professional and statutory costs involved for the division or even amalgamation applications are:

1. An application fee. This fee is charged per plot sub-divided or amalgamated. The cost varies from one county to the other.
2. The PPA₁ form fee. This fee is Ksh. 1000 in all counties.
3. Professional Fee. This fee is charged depending on the size of the project as well as the area that the plot is located.

Majority of people ask themselves 1 acre of land is equal to how many plots? Well, they are 8 1/8 eighth in an acre of land. To buy cheap land in nairobi speak to Denver Group Limited and get a plot with a ready Title Deed.