Complete Guide to Doing a Title Deed Search in Kenya
A land title deed is a document that proves ownership and legal rights over a piece of land. It is the most fundamental document required during land transaction and its details are usually changed from the vendor to the purchaser after a land transaction has taken place so as to show or indicate the new owner after the transfer of ownership.
Before a customer buys a land they ask for a title deed search. The search is to establish the actual owner of the land.
FEATURES OF A TITLE DEED
- First page – This is what you see when you hold it. It has the title number, estimate size of the land, map sheet number, name of the owner and National ID number. In brief it also shares an explanation on the type of land, has a seal and date of issue.
- Second Page – At the top is has 2 sections A and B described as, property and proprietorship. This provides further details such as parcel number details of the owner, a signature and stamp.
- Third Page – This section provides in-depth details on the history and records of the land. It is called encumbrances section. This is where any court cases, loans, mortgage, dispute or any other special detail about the land is made for references.
- Fourth Page – This is more of the back cover; it is almost similar to the first page in terms of the details. It records the Title Deed number and the document code at the bottom.
HOW TO DO A TITLE DEED SEARCH
- Create an account on E-Citizen
- Visit the Ministry of Land and physical planning section.
- Choose land search option.
- Insert the Title number of the property under search
- Complete the online land search form and submit
- Make payment and print the results.
THE PROCESS OF ACQUIRING LAND AT REHAN PROPERTIES
- First step - You do a search of the land you want to buy and ensure that it’s under the seller you are dealing with.
- Second step - Pay a booking fee Ksh 20,000 for Land and Ksh 100,000 for Apartments and fill a reservation form. The reservation form will entail all your details plus the payment plan and the land you are buying.
- Third step – Get an offer letter from the company. The offer letter should have your contact details and the payment plan you have agreed upon.
- Fourth Step – You will be offered a Sale agreement which you are advised to read and if you have a lawyer they can assist you in interpreting any clause you do not understand. Our legal office is also open for any queries on the sale agreement.
- Fifth step – Once you have cleared the payment. You begin the transfer of title. Here we have two options which are; you can choose to do the transfer on your own or you can let the company do the transfer for you and all you have to do is to await notification that your title is ready to come and pick.
- Sixth step- The final step is to once again do a search to ensure that the title has been successfully transferred to your name/corporation.
