Multiple land registration statutes

A December 2020 gazette notice, anchored on a Land Registration order gazetted in November 2017, kick started the process of converting Kenya’s title deeds, previously issued under a multiple legal regime, to a single regime under the Land Registration Act of 2012. When the December 2020 notice hit public space early this month, there was anxiety and confusion about what the conversion was about, and whether it doesn’t provide opportunity for the dispossession of landowners. There was concern that it may provide opportunity for mischief by unscrupulous officials, middlemen and quacks who have muddled up our land administration system for long. These concerns were valid. Until then, there was a big information gap, and hardly any public sensitization on the matter.

Public sensitization

But the coordinating state Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning moved with speed to mitigate these gaps. The Cabinet Secretary issued a prompt and comprehensive public statement whose content was widely covered in the local print and broadcast media. It also circulated widely on social media. The statement, along with extra information, including FAQs, was quickly hang on the Ministry’s website(www.lands.go.ke) to help debunk pertinent public concerns. This makes it easy to establish that the exercise will be countrywide, is phased and commences with Nairobi County, and is intended to end in December 2022.

The process requires landowners holding title deeds or leases not issued under the Land Registration Act to apply for migration of such documents for conformity. Applicants will not be required to pay any statutory fees. The ownership details, size and any registered interests on the land won’t be changed and will remain as on the old titles.

Registry Index Map (RIM) to serve as cadastral map

But what’s the background and justification to this? Kenya’s 2010 constitution required that the existing land laws be revised, consolidated or rationalized. This was because the laws were many, and some were inconsistent and incompatible. Subsequently, substantive land law was collapsed into the Land Act for public and private land. Substantive law on community land is now anchored in the Community Land Act. The various land registration laws which had been used in parallel since formal law was applied to our jurisdiction were repealed under the Land Registration Act. This law now provides for the registration of all rights to land in Kenya. Furthermore, this law provided for the use of a cadastral map to be maintained for each registration unit. The Ministry’s statement clarifies that the Registry Index Map (RIM) will now be used as the cadastral map to support registration of title under the Land Registration Act.

Therefore, a situation where we would continue to have some ownership documents issued under the repealed Indian Transfer of Property Act, Land Titles Act, Registration of Titles Act, Government Lands Act or Registered Land Act, some with deed plans as the supporting map, in routine use, would be anomalous. Indeed, this migration was long overdue. There will be challenges too. But it behoves the Ministry, stakeholders and title holders to resolve these as they emerge.

Dated: 22^nd January, 2021