3 Main Property Disputes In Kenya And How To Resolve Them

Land ownership in Kenya is among the major sources of conflicts.

This is due to a number of factors such as population growth that causes and increased demand for land and lack of proper documentation when investing and individual is investing in land for sale in Kenya.

Below are the most common land disputes and how you can overcome them.

Transfer of land dispute

Such disputes arise when a party claims to have bought land or a plot and the vendor has declined to transfer the property to him/her.

This may be as a result of the purchaser and the vendor not following the right procedure on land transaction and transfer process.

To overcome this challenge, it is important to have a written and a signed agreement and title transfer form witnessed by an advocate.

Prospective buyers intending to purchase a property on leasehold grounds should obtain a consent from a local authority and clearance certificates of land rates.

If the above procedure is followed, a lot of such disputes will be avoided as the party, which breaches the contract can be sued.

Boundary Land dispute

This is the most common dispute in real estate in Kenya. Mostly it has been attributed to negligence of property owners and absentee landlords.

To avoid such kind of disputes it is important to have land boundaries fixed and beacons placed by a certified surveyor, also as a land owner, fence your property and maintain it.

This will discourage intruders from accessing the property in your absence. Disputes arising from boundaries are addressed by the Land Dispute Tribunal Act.

Adverse Land possession

This dispute arises when a person enters your property without any legal title deed to it. A person who enters and occupies land for 12 years can petition the High Court to declare him or her an adverse possessor.

For a person to qualify for adverse possession, he/she must prove to the court that He/she entered the land adversely, his/her entry to the land was open and not secretive and his/her stay was continuous without interruption and peaceful for 12 years.

To avoid such a dispute always keep checking your vacant land or plot in Kenya so that no one occupies in your absence.

Prevention is always better than cure, at all time and at all costs try and prevent land disputes from occuring because resolving land disputes may take a long time and consume alot of resources.

Land ownership in Kenya is among the major sources of conflicts.

This is due to a number of factors such as population growth that causes and increased demand for land and lack of proper documentation when investing and individual is investing in land for sale in Kenya.

Below are the most common land disputes and how you can overcome them.

Transfer of land dispute

Such disputes arise when a party claims to have bought land or a plot and the vendor has declined to transfer the property to him/her.

This may be as a result of the purchaser and the vendor not following the right procedure on land transaction and transfer process.

To overcome this challenge, it is important to have a written and a signed agreement and title transfer form witnessed by an advocate.

Prospective buyers intending to purchase a property on leasehold grounds should obtain a consent from a local authority and clearance certificates of land rates.

If the above procedure is followed, a lot of such disputes will be avoided as the party, which breaches the contract can be sued.

Boundary Land dispute

This is the most common dispute in real estate in Kenya. Mostly it has been attributed to negligence of property owners and absentee landlords.

To avoid such kind of disputes it is important to have land boundaries fixed and beacons placed by a certified surveyor, also as a land owner, fence your property and maintain it.

This will discourage intruders from accessing the property in your absence. Disputes arising from boundaries are addressed by the Land Dispute Tribunal Act.

Adverse Land possession

This dispute arises when a person enters your property without any legal title deed to it. A person who enters and occupies land for 12 years can petition the High Court to declare him or her an adverse possessor.

For a person to qualify for adverse possession, he/she must prove to the court that He/she entered the land adversely, his/her entry to the land was open and not secretive and his/her stay was continuous without interruption and peaceful for 12 years.

To avoid such a dispute always keep checking your vacant land or plot in Kenya so that no one occupies in your absence.

Prevention is always better than cure, at all time and at all costs try and prevent land disputes from occuring because resolving land disputes may take a long time and consume alot of resources.