Unraveling The Ongoing Conversion Of Land Titles And Migration Of Land Registers In Kenya (part 1)

The promulgation of the Land Registration Act, 2012 (“the LRA”) sought to rationalize and consolidate the different land registration regimes into one uniform registration system. Subsequently, the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development (by then known as the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning) vide a Special Gazette Notice No. 11348 of 2020 (“the Notice”) published on the 31st December 2020 notifying the general public that the Ministry has embarked on the process of conversion of old land registration numbers to new parcel numbers. The Notice was published in accordance with Regulation 4(4) of the Land Registration (Registration Units) Order of 2017 (“the Regulations”) promulgated under Section 6 of the LRA.

 The Applicable Laws

The conversion process is grounded by Article 68 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 which provides for consolidation of the various old land registration regimes which were operational before the enactment of the Land Registration Act, 2012 and the Lands Act, 2012. The old land regimes which have since been repealed include the Land Titles Act (Cap 282), The Indian Transfer of Property Act,1882, the Government Lands Act (Cap 280), the Registration of Titles Act (Cap 281), and the Registered Land Act (Cap 300).  

The repeal process yielded a change in the land governance regime in Kenya with the  Constitution of Kenya 2010, the Land Registration Act No. 3 of 2012, the Land Registration (Registration Units) Order 2017, Land Registration (Electronic Transactions) Regulations 2020, the Sectional Properties Act 2020, the Survey (Electronic Cadastre Transactions) Regulations 2020, the Physical and Land Use Planning Act 2019 and the Land Registration (General) Regulations 2017 among other Laws becoming the guiding land laws and regulations.

It is important to note that the process of conversion and migration of land registers is being implemented by the Ministry in phases and batches and is currently being progressively carried out on properties located within Nairobi County. Ultimately, all land throughout the country will undergo the conversion and migration process 

 The Meaning of Conversion and Migration of Land Registers

Conversion is a statutory process that refers to the process of changing the title numbers issued under the various repealed land registration statutes to a unitary regime, following the creation of new land registration units as provided in Section 6 of the LRA. Therefore, a landowner in possession of a title issued under any of the old legal regimes i.e. ( the Government Land’s Act, the Registration of Titles Act, the Land Titles Act and the Registered Land Act), is required to make an application for replacement of the said title, surrender the old title to the land registrar upon which they will be issued with a title document reflecting a new title number in the format NAIROBI/BLOCKxx/xxx (if the land is located within Nairobi County). 

 Migration refers to the ongoing movement from the various land registers that applied before the enactment of the new land laws in 2012 to a new uniform land register as envisaged in the LRA and Regulation 8 of the Land Registration (Registration Units) Order of 2017. In essence, it is a transition from old to new land registers applicable following the repeal and enactment of the new land law regimes. 

Essentially, land registrars are to close all the old land registers and migrate/move all property/proprietor particulars, documents, all encumbrances and entries to the new registers of each registration unit. The closing of the old registers and the migrating of data to the new register will be done simultaneously to avoid any inconveniences to the public. Importantly, the migration process does not affect the ownership of the property converted, the size of the parcel and the interests in that particular property. 

The conversion process also involves the replacement of Deed Plans with Registry Index Maps (RIMs) as instruments of registration. The Cadastral map which generally refers to the Registry Index Map and the survey plans, shall replace the Deep Plans used to process titles in some of the old land law regimes. RIMs are aimed at reducing incidences of fraud because they capture a wider area of land parcels in a designated area as opposed to Deed Plans which focus only on a specific land parcel in isolation.

 What is the Conversion Process 

The conversion process is as follows:

1. Preparation and approval of cadastral maps and conversion lists, indicating new and old numbers for parcels of land within a registration unit or registration section/block and their corresponding acreages. This process is undertaken by the Survey of Kenya.
2. Publication by the Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Lands of the approved conversion lists and cadastral maps through a notice in the Kenya Gazette and two national daily newspapers indicating that the old registers for the old parcel numbers will be closed and new land registers for the new parcel numbers opened after the expiry of ninety (90) days;
3. Within 90 days from the date of publication of the conversion list, land owners of the listed properties are required to lodge their grievances with the land registrar for review and consideration;
4. In case any complaint is lodged, the Land Registrar is required to register a caution on the affected property pending the resolution of the complaint;
5. Upon expiration of the ninety (90) days and no complaint is lodged, the old land registers for affected properties are closed and a new land register under the LRA are opened;
6. Thereafter, the Land Registrar issues a notice to the public inviting the owners of the affected properties to apply for the replacement of titles of the old titles. The notice is published in two national daily newspapers and announced on radio stations of nationwide coverage;
7. Landowners then submit applications for replacement of title in accordance with the notice within the timelines stated in the notice by the Land Registrar.

In our next articles, we shall delve into the process of replacement of title under the Ardhisasa platform, how to lodge a complaint with the Land registrar in cases of any complaints and conversion under the Sectional Properties Act, 2020.

The conversion process has faced several challenges since its implementation in 2021. Currently, owing to the necessity to replace old parcel numbers, transactions relating to transfer, charge, short-term leases and sectional titles of parcels located within Nairobi have been stalled until the property owners undertake the conversion process and their titles are replaced. As the Ministry of Lands continues to streamline the process, our advice to property owners especially those whose parcels are situated in Nairobi, is to undertake the conversion process to ensure they are compliant and that their land transactions are not hindered. 

 Please Get in touch with us today for:

• Undertaking the conversion process on your behalf;
• Creation of an Ardhisasa account for both residents and foreigners;
• Comprehensive advisory with respect to the conversion process and any other land-related issue.