Think twice over that property deal, prospective owners told

Property buyers have been warned of a rise in the number of proprietors rushing to sell houses located on grabbed land, while others were out to make quick money on irregularly allocated plots.

National Land Commission Chairman Mohammed Swazuri cautioned buyers to carefully scrutinise ownership of plots and houses to avoid buying controversial property.

Background checks are necessary, he said, adding, “any property that is acquired legally will have all the accompanying documents in order.”

Dr Swazuri told land buyers to confirm with formal documents including Gazette notices indicating ownership of pieces of land, planning notices, request for surveyors and involve the Lands registrar.

The Lands chairman was responding to queries by the Nation following a discovery that property ownership in Nairobi and its environs was becoming a nightmare, with real estate experts warning that some transactions were becoming risky over absent legal documents.

Housing Finance Managing Director Frank Ireri said that financial institutions have had to be extra careful in document verification which has slowed down verification before advancing mortgages.

“It’s a reality we have had to contend with, especially after the awful Syokimau demolitions that affected many unsuspecting families,” Mr Ireri said.

DEMOLISHED HOUSES

More than 60 homes were demolished in Syokimau two years ago as they were allegedly built on airport land.

Land Development and Governance Institute Director Ibrahim Mwathane said the spate of demolitions that have rocked the country have only served to inject some uncertainty in the real estate sector.

“The demolitions end up denting investor confidence,” he said.

“Public offices and any other officers responsible for initiating these flawed and fraudulent processes should be held accountable,” Mr Mwathane said.

He proposed that the land commission, with roads agencies and other infrastructure providers, establish a technical team to mark out all public land compulsorily acquired or reserved from private or communal use countrywide, to ensure it reflected on official property maps.

“This will help to forewarn planners and buyers to avoid and respect such land,” he said.

Some homeowners have lost millions of shillings in destroyed houses which were inadvertently built on such pieces of land meant either for construction of roads, railways or airstrips.

DUE PROCESS

Meanwhile, a recent survey on property prices by Hass Consult indicated that property values had increased 3.46 times since 2000.

Kenya Land Alliance national coordinator Odenda Lumumba said many buyers were by-passing legal property purchasing procedures either because they wanted to close the deal fast or were under pressure from the fraudsters selling the land.

“Most people, especially those buying sub-divided plots, never ask for the root title deed,” he said.

“But it is important because the mother title will show you a lot of things about the land you intend to purchase and whether there are any controversies on notices on it. You may be shocked to realise that the mother title belongs to the government, meaning that the title deeds being hawked around are actually fake.”

FAKE DEEDS

According to the Ndung’u Report of 2003, there are more than 200,000 fake title deeds.

On the Lang’ata demolitions, however, Mr Lumumba said maps for the Nairobi by-passes were drawn up in the 1970s and that any document that contradicts the original master plan was not valid.

Mr Mwathane said it is wrong to blame investors when there was no effort to dig deeper to find the root cause of the land problems.

He said the frequent demolitions of property was “immoral” and should not be allowed to continue.