The Land Laws (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2023
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New Annual Levy on Urban Freehold Land
Inserts a new Section 54A into the Land Act, 2012, requiring owners of freehold land within urban areas or cities to pay an annual land levy. The levy is calculated to be equivalent to the land rent charged on a comparable leasehold property of the same size in the same zone. Freehold land used for agricultural purposes is exempt from this levy.
Establishment of the Land Acquisition Committee
Repeals Part VIIIA of the Land Act, 2012, and introduces Section 133A to establish a five-member Land Acquisition Committee appointed by the Cabinet Secretary. The committee will consist of a chairperson (who must be an advocate of at least ten years' standing), two registered valuers, one licensed surveyor, and one representative from the informal sector. It will hear and determine appeals regarding compulsory land acquisitions.
Devolution of Land Control Appeals to Counties
Amends the Land Control Act (Cap. 302) to replace Provincial Land Control Appeals Boards with County Land Control Appeals Boards. Under Section 10, the Cabinet Secretary will establish a board for each county containing a land control area. The boards will consist of the County Commissioner as chairperson, up to two other public officers, and between two and five local landowners appointed by the Cabinet Secretary.
Stricter Rent Review and Valuation Processes
Inserts Sections 28A, 28B, and 28C into the Land Act, 2012. It mandates that leasehold land rents must be reviewed every ten years. The Cabinet Secretary is empowered to cause the land to be valued every ten years to determine the rent payable for the subsequent period. Lessees must be notified in writing and have the right to object to the valuation.
Phased Developments and Umbrella Corporations
Amends the Sectional Properties Act, 2020, to introduce a formal framework for 'phased developments'. Developers must submit a 'part sectional plan' and a detailed phased development declaration before beginning construction. The Bill also permits the registration of an 'umbrella corporation' to manage shared common properties among multiple sectional developments.
Bill No.
No. 76 of 2023
Gazette No.
Supplement No. 237 of 2023
Sponsor
Kimani Ichung'wah
Background
The Land Laws (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2023 is an omnibus bill that seeks to update several key land laws in Kenya to improve administrative efficiency, resolve ambiguities in lease renewals and land acquisitions, decentralise registries, and align national statutes with the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
Key Amendments
1. Registration of Documents Act (Cap. 285)
- Registry Decentralisation: Aligns the registration of documents with the Land Registration Act, 2012, and allows for local, electronic registration and searches (Section 39).
- Language Requirements: Under Section 6, registrars may refuse to register any document not written in English or Kiswahili unless accompanied by a certified translation.
2. Land Control Act (Cap. 302)
- Administrative Realignment: Replaces 'provincial' structures with county-level governance, specifically substituting provincial land control appeals boards with newly constituted County Land Control Appeals Boards.
- Board Membership: Updates board composition to include county government nominations and local agricultural landowners.
3. Land Registration Act, 2012 (No. 3 of 2012)
- Charges and Land Rent: Amends Section 56 to prohibit the registration of any charge on land unless the registrar is satisfied that all outstanding land rent has been paid in full.
- Rectification of Title: Section 79 is revised to clarify that a title cannot be altered or cancelled without the proprietor's consent unless the title was obtained through fraud or lack of proper care on the part of the proprietor.
4. Land Act, 2012 (No. 6 of 2012)
- Allocation of Public Land: Amends Section 2 to clarify that the 'allocation of public land' means land alienation by either the national or county government via the National Land Commission.
- Compulsory Acquisition: Transfers the authority to handle compulsory land acquisition processes directly to the Cabinet Secretary to reduce administrative delays.
- Lease Renewals: Re-assigns the renewal and extension of leases to the Cabinet Secretary, establishing clear criteria and application guidelines.
5. Community Land Act, 2016 (No. 27 of 2016)
- Adjudication Programmes: Amends Section 46 to allow the Cabinet Secretary to gazette new completion dates and finalise registrations for pending adjudication programmes that exceed the initial two-year statutory limit.
6. Sectional Properties Act, 2020 (No. 21 of 2020)
- Phased Building: Introduces part sectional plans, requiring surveyors to prepare sectional plans for each phase of a development based on county-approved master plans.
- Management Structures: Establishes 'umbrella corporations' to coordinate common interests and properties shared between two or more sectional properties.
New Obligations
- Freehold Land Levy: Freehold landowners in cities and urban areas must now pay an annual land levy comparable to leasehold rent in the same zone.
- Acquisition Funding: Acquiring public bodies must demonstrate to the Cabinet Secretary that compensation funds are fully available and deposit surveyor fees, registration fees, and other costs before a compulsory land acquisition can proceed.
Penalties
- Obstruction of Land Entry: Section 130 of the Land Act, 2012, is maintained and highlighted; any person who wilfully hinders or obstructs authorized officers from entering land for survey, inspection, or compulsory acquisition commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of up to KSh 3 million, or both.
Transitional Provisions
- Leasehold Conversions: All long-term leases intended to confer entire leasehold interests in apartments, townhouses, flats, or maisonettes registered before the Sectional Properties Act, 2020, must be reviewed and conformed to Section 54(5) of the Land Registration Act, 2012, within two years of the commencement of this Act.
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