Kenya’s new National Lands Information Management System – what landowners need to know

The Kenyan Ministry of Lands has launched the National Land Information Management System (“NLIMS”), also known as “Ardhi Sasa”.

The government has previously kept manual land records in various registries across the country which has made land transactions tedious and susceptible to fraud. To help resolve this, the NLIMS will be implemented to improve efficiency and enhance service delivery.

NLIMS will be rolled out across the country in phases. A pilot run of the migration in Nairobi is on course with all properties registered under the Nairobi District being uploaded to NLIMS. It is intended that properties registered in 20 additional counties will be uploaded by the end of the year.

All land transactions for the affected properties will need to be carried out through the portal and all parties intending to carry out any land transactions will first need to register on the platform prior to carrying out any transactions.

Once registered, it will be possible to carry out various land transactions including searches to verify ownership and encumbrances, transfers, charges over land and placing cautions and restrictions on titles.

What landowners need to do

register on the platform

You are advised to log onto the platform and register as a user using your Kenyan identification card serial number, mobile telephone and email address. You will also be required to upload an official passport photograph in order to access any services on the platform.

Companies will be able to register on the system using the company registration number and providing contact details of up to two persons who will authorise transactions on behalf of the company.

There is no provision for the registration of foreign nationals on the platform. We are waiting for further guidelines from the Ministry of Lands on how foreigners will be able to access the platform.

update details of all properties owned

Once registered, you will be required to provide details of all owned properties which will be verified against the information held by the lands office on NLIMS. Once verification is completed, you will be able to transact on your own behalf or appoint an advocate to transact on your behalf.

approve any transactions lodged on behalf of a landowner

All transactions carried out on the platform will require the approval of the landowner prior to processing.

If an advocate is acting on your behalf, you will be required to log onto the platform and grant authorisation for the transaction to proceed. Authorisation will be via a one-time password that will be sent to your mobile phone.

What happens next?

This is an ongoing process. There will be further publications in the Kenya Gazette and two daily newspapers of properties that have been uploaded onto the platform. Please look out for these notifications to see if they include your property.

In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to get in touch should you require assistance in confirming if your property has been uploaded to the platform as well as registering on the platform and we will assist with completing the registration process.

Nigel Shaw

ENSafrica | Kenya | Managing Partner

nshaw@ENSafrica.com

+254 733 731 209

Anne Odhiambo

ENSafrica | Kenya | Senior Associate

aodhiambo@ENSafrica.com

+254 729 854 931

Brenda Matu

ENSafrica | Kenya | Associate

bmatu@ENSafrica.com

+254 724 356 626