Developers of apartments and sectional properties have up to December to comply with a new law that allows buyers of such assets to acquire individual ownership documents.
The Sectional Properties Act, whose regulations were passed by Parliament in December, comes with multiple changes, including allowing Kenyans who purchased single units in apartment blocks to get legal ownership papers, popularly known as title deeds. Previously, there was no law enabling this.
The new law also means that owners of such properties can use the documents for financial transactions, such as placing them as security for loans—a motivation for banks and financiers to offer credit facilities to the individual unit owners as they may now charge the individual units directly without requiring the consent of the developer and or the manager.
Further, the new law has reduced the leasehold period to 21 years from the 45 required under the repealed law.
Outgoing Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney said property developers and professionals, including surveyors and lawyers, have until December to comply.
“Because of the short period, we have agreed that for any new development of apartments and sectional units, you must comply with the Sectional Properties Act.
Transition
“For developments that are finished but some of the units have been registered under long-term leases, we are allowing you to finish registration of the rest of the units under the old regime and then you can convert later,” Ms Karoney said.
The CS said that for properties that have been registered under the old regime, the ministry would allow transactions to be performed on them until December as their owners’ transition to the new law.
“If you want to charge your apartment and you have not converted to the SPA, 2020, we can allow you to do that with consultation with the chief land registrar based on whatever transaction you want to do. However, the moratorium ends in December because we all need to convert to the Sectional Properties Act, 2020 by December 2022.” – Daily Nation
