State now waives fees for land title searches

Government waives fees for title searches at Land Registries. (Photo: Courtesy)

A Cabinet meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta issued the waiver to cushion Kenyans from unnecessary costs and is part of the Government’s policy to make doing business in the country easier.

The directive is also expected to reduce the bureaucratic procedures that have characterised land transactions for decades.

President Kenyatta’s administration said the decision comes on the back of the progress the Jubilee administration had made in issuing more than three million title deeds since coming into office.

His administration said the Government was able to surpass its target of issuing three million titles by fast-tracking the issuance of titles through a temporary waiver of land adjudication and survey fees.

A statement from the Presidential Strategic and Communication Unit said the Ministry of Lands was also working on the digitisation of land registries to automate land transactions and reduce the time it takes to complete a transaction.

It said the automation has reduced the possibilities of tampering with property data.