Completion is a week away, and the buyer’s advocate has asked for a rates clearance certificate and a rent clearance certificate. Neither side is quite sure what the documents do, but without them the transfer cannot pass cleanly through the registry. They are routine documents, and routine documents deserve a moment of attention. What is … Read more
A buyer is posted abroad for three years and wants to purchase a house in Nairobi before returning. A seller’s parent, who owns the family land, can no longer travel to sign. In both situations the transaction proceeds through a power of attorney, an instrument that allows one person to act for another, and its … Read more
The parcel you want is registered in the name of a limited company, and the person negotiating with you introduces himself as a director. Before any deposit is paid, the company’s official records, not the person in front of you, determine who can actually sell. Why is buying from a company different? A company holds … Read more
The buyer’s advocate has asked the seller to bring his wife to sign a consent form, and the seller is offended, the land is registered in his name alone. Under Kenyan law, that consent may be exactly what protects the transaction from a later challenge. When is spousal consent required for a transfer? Where the … Read more
A seller agrees on a price, the buyer’s advocate sends the completion checklist, and one line reads: capital gains tax. Many sellers meet the tax for the first time at the point of sale, when the timetable allows little room for surprises. Understanding what the tax covers, and when it falls due, helps sellers plan … Read more
The seller has shown you a clean title deed in a plastic folder, and it looks reassuring. A deed is only paper until an official search confirms what the register actually says, which is why careful purchases in Kenya begin at the lands registry, not at the signing table. What is an official title search? … Read more
A developer has shown you floor plans for a block in Syokimau, the brochure promises completion in eighteen months, and the payment plan looks manageable. Off-plan purchases suit many buyers, but the legal risks start on the day the first instalment is paid. What are the risks of buying off-plan? Off-plan means contracting for a … Read more
A neighbour mentions that the sale of the five-acre farm in Machakos must first go before the Land Control Board, and the seller waves the idea away. For anyone buying agricultural land in Kenya, consent is a step that cannot be skipped without serious consequences. What is the Land Control Board? The Land Control Act … Read more
Money has changed hands, the boundaries were shown on the ground, and everyone shook hands on the deal. Years later the seller denies the sale, or offers the same land to someone else. Oral land sale agreements remain common in parts of Kenya, and buyers and sellers regularly ask whether a deal concluded without a … Read more
The transfer has been signed, the seller is pressing for lodgement, and the documents cannot be registered until stamp duty is assessed and paid. Stamp duty is a frequent point of delay, and of avoidable expense, in Kenyan property transactions. What is stamp duty and when is it payable? Stamp duty is a tax on … Read more
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