Why you should register your land

By Harold Ayodo

Registration of property at district land registries is important for prospective investors in real estate. Registration is the keeping of records of land or property transactions in the Government land register in form of a simple deed, document record or register record.

The Law of Contract Act (Chapter 23) states in Section 3 that all dealings in property (land) must be in writing to be enforceable. The statute seeks to ensure that property is not obtained fraudulently, encourage precision and perform protective functions to prospective buyers.

There are several essential reasons for listing property but the main one is to record property rights and interest in land. Most of the recent fraud cases in property transactions running into millions of shillings occur over dealings in non-registered estates.

Security of title

Writing and registration are the basic canons of conveyancing — transactions of property introduced by the Statute of Frauds (1677) and Enrolments (1536) in England. There are several advantages of registration including security of tenure, which enables the proprietor to acquire an indefeasible title.

Registered property owners can use the documents as conclusive evidence in court in the wake of legal battles over contested ownership. Security of tenure acquired through registration gives the property owner a right to indemnity from the State in cases of fraud or errors in the register.

Section 143 of the Registered Lands Act (RLA), however, states that even fraud does not defeat a first registration of property. The first registration of property under the RLA gives the owner absolute and indefeasible ownership.

The security of title guarantees owners of property loans from financial institutions — prospective investors have more faith in dealing with registered land. Listing of property reduces unwarranted lawsuits as the legal owner can sell or settle his or her investment without fear of litigation.

Registration determines whether or not property can be sub-divided as details such as acreage are explicitly noted in the official documents. Conveyancing transactions must not only be presented to the right lands registry but registered and signed by the right registrar. Recording of the property prevents fraud by ensuring publicity of transactions — the register is a public document making it possible to ascertain legal owners. The Government is able to easily manage property tax administration following the ease of identifying legal owners to levy tax.

Land Titles Act

Registration helps to identify the substantive law applicable to any property: either the RLA or the Indian Transfer of Property Act (ITPA). Non-registration legally means that no interest has passed in cases of transactions and the same cannot be contested in court. Section 32 of the Registration of Titles Act (RTA) 1920 Cap 281 declares documents purporting to transfer interest in property invalid unless registered.

Other Statutes that make registration compulsory are the Land Titles Act 1908 (LTA) Cap 282 and Government Lands Act (GLA) 1915 Cap 280. Others are the Registered Land Act (RLA) 1963 Cap 300 and the Registration of Documents Act (RDA) 1901 Cap 285. Property registered under the RDA merely entails evidence that a transaction took place without proof of legality of the same.

The writer is a lawyer and journalist with the Standard Group.