Land Registries closure; Impact to real estate sector in Kenya

Land Registries closure has impacted the real estate sector in Kenya. This has affected real estate developers and investment companies. Despite this closure, developers have incorporated alternative ways of ensuring clients are able to view land for sale and houses for sale in Kenya amidst the pandemic. They have managed to navigate between taking clients to view properties for sale in small groups while observing social distancing and proper hygiene. Leading real estate companies in Kenya have continued to encourage clients to self-drive to view plots for sale around Nairobi and encouraging them to sign documents such as offer letters online. The Ministry of Lands has also taken measures to curb the spread of the virus and on 17th March, the Cabinet Secretary Faridah Karoney announced the closure of all land registries for a period of 30 days. This closure was further extended on 15th of April for a further 15 days. It is important to note that this closure was made to protect the staff members and the general public from contracting the virus due to human interactions and spreading it to others. Below are some impacts caused but this closure but we are hopeful that this pandemic comes to an end and normal operations resume. Impact of closure of the land registries

• Services offered at the Land Registries such as Land registration, issuance of land leases, title deed searches, transfer of title deeds, determination of land boundaries, sale of maps, change of land user, valuation of land for sale and payments of stamp duty will experience some delays. have been suspended across the country and this greatly affects investments companies.
• The delay of the above services may freeze multi-billion shillings’ transactions and this may end up denying our government the revenue generated from such transactions. We remain hopeful that we flatten the curve soon so that normal activities can resume
• There are some developers who operate under agreements that are biding with set timelines and failure to which they are forced to pay huge penalties for delays. This means some will suffer losses if COVID-19 continues to spread in country hence causing unavoidable delays. However, we are encouraging parties to agree on the way forward in consideration of the current circumstance and reach a win-win situation for both.
• Some investors were relying on title deeds for them to secure financing of individual or corporate projects will experience unexpected delays thus affecting their plans. However, one can consider postponing such plans due to this unexpected delay that have affected all sectors of the economy.

While operations in the country may have been slowed down by the pandemic, investors should take advantage of this time to sign any pending document such as sale agreements and title transfer form with their investment companies in readiness for immediate transfer once land registries resume operations.

Land Registries closure has impacted the real estate sector in Kenya. This has affected real estate developers and investment companies. Despite this closure, developers have incorporated alternative ways of ensuring clients are able to view land for sale and houses for sale in Kenya amidst the pandemic. They have managed to navigate between taking clients to view properties for sale in small groups while observing social distancing and proper hygiene. Leading real estate companies in Kenya have continued to encourage clients to self-drive to view plots for sale around Nairobi and encouraging them to sign documents such as offer letters online. The Ministry of Lands has also taken measures to curb the spread of the virus and on 17th March, the Cabinet Secretary Faridah Karoney announced the closure of all land registries for a period of 30 days. This closure was further extended on 15th of April for a further 15 days. It is important to note that this closure was made to protect the staff members and the general public from contracting the virus due to human interactions and spreading it to others. Below are some impacts caused but this closure but we are hopeful that this pandemic comes to an end and normal operations resume. Impact of closure of the land registries

• Services offered at the Land Registries such as Land registration, issuance of land leases, title deed searches, transfer of title deeds, determination of land boundaries, sale of maps, change of land user, valuation of land for sale and payments of stamp duty will experience some delays. have been suspended across the country and this greatly affects investments companies.
• The delay of the above services may freeze multi-billion shillings’ transactions and this may end up denying our government the revenue generated from such transactions. We remain hopeful that we flatten the curve soon so that normal activities can resume
• There are some developers who operate under agreements that are biding with set timelines and failure to which they are forced to pay huge penalties for delays. This means some will suffer losses if COVID-19 continues to spread in country hence causing unavoidable delays. However, we are encouraging parties to agree on the way forward in consideration of the current circumstance and reach a win-win situation for both.
• Some investors were relying on title deeds for them to secure financing of individual or corporate projects will experience unexpected delays thus affecting their plans. However, one can consider postponing such plans due to this unexpected delay that have affected all sectors of the economy.

While operations in the country may have been slowed down by the pandemic, investors should take advantage of this time to sign any pending document such as sale agreements and title transfer form with their investment companies in readiness for immediate transfer once land registries resume operations.