Anyone planning or buying or selling property needs to be aware of the legal documents required for the purchase of property in Kenya. Sometimes the paperwork for buying a house privately looks like a nightmare to many, this article is here to enlighten you.
These include
documents like:
1. Offer Letter Or
Reservation Form
This is a document
expressing interest by a buyer to purchase a property.
It is a single-page
document that outlines the contractual terms and conditions for both the seller
and buyer of land.
As a buyer, this is
the first document you sign after selecting and booking a plot of land.
The main contents of
the document are:
- The name of the vendor
- The name of the purchaser
- A witness to the transaction
- The property identification number (plot
number)
- The preferred payment term, in most cases
cash or installment
The vendor and the
seller should each have a copy of this document. This eliminates the
probability of two parties purchasing the same property.
Many Kenyans also ask
about what documents do solicitors need when buying a house in Nairobi; a sales
agreement is necessary.
2. Sale Agreement
This is the second
document needed when purchasing land.
It is a legally
binding document that spells out the obligation of each party to a purchasing
contract. It binds the two parties involved. In that, the vendor sells the
property and the buyer buys the property.
One is advised to sign
this document after doing due diligence to ascertain that everything checks
out. Due diligence in land involves attending a site visit to verify the
location and the size of the property, doing a land search to confirm that the
seller is indeed the owner of the property among other things.
The contents of this
agreement include;
- Full names of both the seller and the
buyer
- The description of the property under
sale. This includes its physical location, size, plot number, and its
current condition, whether occupied or vacant
- The purchasing price of the land and how
the payments are to be made
- Special conditions surrounding the
property. This dictates who is to pay for other charges such as stamp
duty, legal fees, and title transfer costs.
This document is
important as it protects both parties involved in the process of purchasing
land. If either the seller or the purchaser fails to meet the terms of this
document, then the aggrieved party can take legal action to recover the damages
caused.
To properly protect
yourself, we advise that a sale agreement be filled in triplicate. One copy for
the property vendor, a copy for the buyer, and the other for a lawyer who
should oversee the transaction.
3. Title Transfer
Document
Finally, after all the
payments are made to the seller, you will need to sign a title transfer
document. This document is used to transfer the ownership of the property from
the vendor to the purchaser. Before submitting a transfer request to the Land
Registry, the following documents needs to be attached:
- An approved consent of sale from the Lands
Control Board
- Proof of having paid the Stamp duty
- Copies of identification documents
- KRA pin certificate of the buyer
- Two passport photos.
This document is the
legal proof of land transfer. It can be used when tracing the history of the
property in the Land Registry. The document is to be filled in triplicate: a
copy at the Land Registry, a copy for the buyer, and the other for the seller.
Summary
Land transactions may
look simple but are complex in their simplicity. There is more to them than
just buying and selling. You may know what to do but fail on how to do it.