Allotment letter (letter of allotment)

Allotment letters come from the old system of allocating public land. The allocating body offered a plot to a person, who then had to accept, pay the stand premium and other fees, and wait for the land to be surveyed and registered. Only then would a title be issued.

In Torino Enterprises v Attorney General (September 2023), the Supreme Court of Kenya held that an allotment letter on its own does not give a title that can be passed on. The allottee has to be registered first. The court also stressed that buyers must investigate the land themselves, including visiting it, rather than relying on documents alone.

Allotment letters still appear today in lease extensions and renewals: after the National Land Commission approves new terms, it issues an allotment letter, which is then turned into a new registered lease.

Why it still matters. Many plots in Kenya, especially former public land in towns, were first allocated by letter, and some were never properly surveyed or registered. Others were allocated more than once, or allocated from land that was already reserved for a road, a school or a river bank. When those plots are later sold, the buyer inherits any defect in the original allocation. That is why courts look at the root of the title, and why an advocate's check of the land's history matters as much as the current search.

• Towns and former government land: allotment letters are most common here, because this land was allocated by the state.
• Lease renewals: owners of expiring government leases receive allotment letters for the new term from the National Land Commission.