A HISTORICAL LAND SEARCH
All I need to know before purchase of property in Kenya.
Land ownership in Layman’s language is simply the access of a land title. Title Deed is a document that determines the ownership of land, or an immovable property. Having a clear land title protects the rights of the title holder against other claims made by anyone else to the property.
A Normal search or a Historical search?
A historical search is done at the registry of the Ministry of Lands. It is used to establish the history of the ownership of that land and shows the owners of the land from the first time it was registered and any other transactions that may have been done on it. It is; therefore, known as due diligence.
Due diligence is key in matters land and specifically in land purchase. Most people do not know that before you purchase any piece of land it is important to do the due diligence; thus, encounter fraudsters and fall for their scams.
The Environment and Land Court at Nairobi on the 28th of June in 2019 declared that before one purchases any piece of land, due diligence should be conducted. The due diligence is by conducting a historical search of the land in question from the registry at the Ministry of Lands. This is in order to ascertain if there are overriding interests affecting that land. This is in addition to the normal search.
Before one can act on any piece of land, it is important to conduct a search on the title. The search indicates the owner of the particular property and any encumbrance and relevant entries registered against that land. When the search is issued by the registry, it acts as conclusive evidence of proprietorship.
A normal search is not enough.
When purchasing property, it is advisable to conduct a historical search. For a historical search, one has to go the Lands registry whereas a normal search can be retrieved online from the eCitizen Portal.
A normal search will only show a single entry; therefore, you will not be able to discover any mortgages and the other entries against that title.
To conduct the historical search, you will be needed to fill a Search Request Form, which is obtained at the Lands Registry accompanied by these documents: a copy of the title deed, a copy of your Identification card as well as a copy of the Kenya Revenue Authorities (KRA) pin certificate. The search results will be ready in an average of three days, after the Lands Registration officer fills the form with the details of the status of the Land. This is charged at Kshs. 500
The search indicates the owner of that particular piece of land and will help in comparing the details on the title with those in the land registry records. It also show whether, or not there is a mortgage associated with the property as well as any other relevant entries registered against that land.
To avoid cases of fraud ensure to conduct due diligence before transacting to buy any property. Do not allow anyone to rush you in transacting, or to pressure you as this is how you will easily be manipulated and fall into the trap of scammers.
Here are more tips on how to avoid falling into land fraud and scams. Speak to Denver today and cheap land for sale within Nairobi Metropolis.
