Legal Alert: Conversion of Land Registration Numbers

LAND TRANSACTIONS IN UNITS SPECIFIED IN GAZETTE NOTICE NO.11348 OF 2020 TO BE CARRIED OUT IN NEW REGISTERS EFFECTIVE 1ST APRIL 2021

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Vide Gazette Notice No. 11348 of 2020 published by the Cabinet Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning on 31st December 2020, land registration numbers outlined in the stated gazette notice have been converted to new parcel numbers. The said Gazette notice operationalized the provisions of the Land Registration (Registration Units) Order of 2017.

Accordingly, land owners are advised to scrutinize and confirm their size of land details and inspect cadastral maps for their respective properties.

Any complaints on the details contained in the gazette notice shall be lodged with the Registrar of Lands within 90 days of publication of the notice. The land owners can also register a caution on the particular parcel pending resolution of the complaint.

Effective 1st April 2021, all transactions in the specified parcels of land shall be carried out in new registers. Consequently, owners of the affected titles are being required to surrender their current titles for replacement. Financial institutions shall facilitate conversation of titles used as security for loans on behalf of borrowers and obtain replacement charges.

The passing of Land Registration Act of 2012 was one of the first steps that was taken in order to operationalize and streamline all registered titles. Section 6 of the Act provides that the Cabinet Secretary shall order in the Gazette the size of land that is to be a land registration unit and vary the limits of such units. A Registration Unit is to be divided into registration sections which shall be given unique names and this can be divided further into blocks which shall have distinct numbers or letters or combinations of numbers and letters. The land registration units will be established at county levels and any other levels to ensure reasonable access to land administration and registration services. This is in line with devolution and this seeks to take the services that were long held at the centre to the devolved governments.

In conclusion, new parcel numbers will be issued to streamline and update the previous system that had caused and continues to cause rampant fraudulent cases. This new system will hopefully put a stop to the menace.

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