_edite.png)
Disclaimer : This article is meant for informational purposes only and should not be construed as a legal opinion. Should you have any questions or need clarifications on the subject matter, kindly feel free to contact us for legal advice.
Introduction
The desire to retire early in life is everyone’s dream. No one wishes to be running up and down with so much on their plate when all they want is to be in some abode somewhere aging like fine wine. People need money and wealth. They need peace and security. Many successful investors will arguably tell you that one of the surest ways of achieving these is by investing in real estate. These enthusiasts will defensively argue that once you choose real estate business, you will never have to work again. So they say, real estate is the only investment that will bring you wealth while you sleep. However, they are quick to advise that to make it in this venture, whether you are a natural person or a corporate entity, you have to be ruthlessly ambitious by honing your craft and engaging skilled expertise in different aspects at the very outset. Undoubtedly, real property value appreciates with time courtesy of factors such as; location, development and improvement. Property developers, investors and land owners need to understand this in their quest to develop property, whether for commercial or residential use, if at all they intend to generate wealth.
This is a follow up article to The Salient Features of the Kenyan Sectional Properties Act 2020. Fundamentally, this article will discuss the preparation, documentation, and registration of sectional plans and units including the key players and their roles; under the Sectional Properties Act No. 21 of 2020 Laws of Kenya (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act').
Preparation, documentation and registration
Under the Act, property developers, surveyors or their agents must present, for approval before the relevant county government, a building plan from which the surveyor draws a sectional plan. It should be noted that the surveyor only prepares the sectional plan upon the proof of ownership of the parcel of land or unit in which the sectional plan relates. A sectional plan is basically a designated plan describing two or more units. An application for approval by a county government shall only be granted if it is satisfied that the structure or the proposed structure conforms to the county development scheme, development control by-laws, zoning by-laws or the land use by-laws, as the case may be.
Once the sectional plan has been prepared and its contents as required under the Act ascertained, it is then presented for registration with the Registrar (in quadruplicate). The sectional plan is accompanied by an application for registration by the corporation and a list of the persons who are the owners of the units in the parcel as at the time of registration and which shall be updated from time to time as the developer continues to sell the units.
Other notable attachments are, an endorsement or certificate from surveyor stating that the structure shown on the plan is properly geo-referenced and that an appropriate easement has been granted as an appurtenance to the parcel; a certificate of approval from the county government stating that the proposed division of the structure as illustrated on the plan has been approved by the respective county government; a certificate of approval by the Director of Survey if the plan presented for registration contains a building with units, stating that the units shown on the plan correlate with the existing structure; and other attendant documents as provided for under the Land Registration (General) Regulations, 2017. (Also read, the Sectional Properties Regulations, 2021).
Issuance of certificate of title/lease
Upon the registration of a sectional plan the Registrar closes the register of the parcel described therein and opens a separate register for each unit described in the plan. Once the prescribed fee for registration has been paid, the Registrar issues in respect of each unit of the sectional property, a certificate of title if the property is freehold or certificate of lease if the property is leasehold. Each certificate will also show the unit’s proportionate share in the common property.
The common property comprised in a registered sectional plan shall be held by the owners of all the units as tenants in common in shares proportional to the unit factors for their respective units. Any interest affecting the parcel of the land that were initially on the register now closed are endorsed on the new register and on the title deed for the sectional plan. Consequently, any interest affecting individual unit is endorsed on the register opened for that unit and on the title deed of the sectional property affecting the unit.
The culmination of this process entitles the proprietor of the unit named in the certificate of title/lease as the owner to deal with the unit in whichever manner they wish and, as such, they may; transfer, charge, lease or otherwise dispose with it in any other way subject to the provisions of the Land Registration Act, 2012.
THE END
Comments