Title Deeds to Be Registered Again Under New Regime. – Ministry of Lands.
Title deeds are set to be registered again as the State has moved land administration and management to new laws to improve transaction efficiency and curb fraud.
The Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning said the titles will now be managed under the Land Registration Act, 2012, which entails major changes in the management of private land.
Title deeds under the Registered Land Act (RLA), the Registration of Titles Act (RTA), the Land Titles Act (LTA), and the now repealed Government Lands Act (GLA) were issued under the old legal regime.
Each of these pieces of legislation has created its own register, making it complex to register land. Farida Karoney, Secretary of the Lands Cabinet, said that the chaos created by the various regimes has become a breeding ground for bribery, delays in service delivery, centralization of land resources and threats to the right to property.
In Kenya, titles released under the RLA and RTA are the most common. With the current rules, new ones are now being published by the Registrar of Lands to replace them in different numbers.
Ms Karoney said the exercise would ensure that land administration and management is carried out under the Land Registration Act, 2012, common law.
“The current titles will be cancelled and new ones issued under the new legal regime while retaining the ownership, size and the other interests registered against the respective title,” she said.
“Title documents held by third parties, including banks, hospitals, and courts as security at the time of commence Lands ment, shall be replaced upon application by the proprietor. The general public is advised to take note of the converted parcel numbers.”
The Land Ministry would use the Registry Index Maps (RIMs) as a guide under the new arrangement, replacing the deed plans and further mitigating land fraud.
In contrast to a deed plan that collects data on one particular parcel, the RIMs show all land parcels within an area. Therefore, any change or modification can be easily noted,” said Ms Karoney.
Boundaries, as well, will not be affected because RIMs are created from fixed boundary survey plans.
Both the RIMs and the survey plans are accessible to land owners on request for verification of boundary information at the Survey of Kenya Headquarters in Ruaraka, Nairobi.
The method of conversion would include the preparation of cadastral maps along with a conversion list showing new and old land parcel numbers within a registration unit or section/block of registration and their corresponding acres.
The cadastral maps, together with the list of conversions, will be published in the Kenya Gazette and in the daily newspapers, with a notice indicating when the register is open to the public for transactions or transactions within the registration unit.
Subsequently, any person with an interest in the land in the registration unit shall lodge a complaint with the registrar who, within 90 days, shall resolve the complaint.
Both registers and all transactions completed in the new register shall be closed at the date of commencement. All closed registers and supporting records must, however, be held in the new registration unit.
A notice shall be published in at least two national newspapers and shall be published on national radio stations inviting registered owners to request applications for the replacement of title documents from the closed registers.
The application is followed by the original title and the identity documents of the owner. The registrar will replace title deeds with new ones, but will maintain for record and secure custody the old title documents.