Leasehold

Most land in Kenyan towns and cities is leasehold. The national government (or a county) is the head lessor, and the owner holds the land for the term written on the lease. The title document is a certificate of lease.

What the owner pays. Leaseholders usually pay land rent to the national government every year, as well as county rates. Before a transfer, the registry wants a rent clearance certificate showing the land rent is paid.

Selling or borrowing. A lease usually says the lessor must consent before the land is transferred, charged or sublet. This is the "consent to transfer" from the Ministry of Lands, which is separate from Land Control Board consent.

When the lease runs out. The owner applies for an extension before expiry or a renewal after it. The Land Act 2012 expects the National Land Commission to notify lessees before expiry. The process goes through county planning, the commission, a new survey where needed, a review of the land rent and a new letter of allotment, then registration.

Non-citizens. Article 65 of the Constitution lets non-citizens hold land only on leasehold, with a capped term (see the figures box). Longer terms granted to non-citizens are read down to that cap.

Apartments. Flats sold before the Sectional Properties Act 2020 were usually sold as long sub-leases of the developer's land. The Act requires these to be converted to sectional titles.

• Nairobi: most titles are government leases. Older ones may show very long colonial-era terms; newer grants are shorter.
• Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and other towns: mostly government leases, with land rent paid to the Ministry of Lands.
• Former settler areas around Nairobi and Kiambu: some titles carry very long leases from the colonial period. These are not the same as freehold.