What Apartment Owners should know about owning Titles and not Sub-leases

Do you own an apartment, flat, maisonette, townhouse, or office registered before 2020? Are you aware that if you purchased a property under a sublease, the property should be converted to get a sectional title that confers you a more secure right than a sublease? The Sectional Properties Act of 2020 came into operation on 22 December 2020. Property owners under sub-leases were given two years to convert their properties to the new regime. The deadline ended in December 2022. Are you aware that property owners who have not complied risk a fine of up to KSH. 20 Million?

The Act stipulates that all long-term sub-leases that give ownership of an apartment, flat, maisonette, townhouse, or office registered before the commencement of the Act shall be brought into conformity with Section 54(5) of the Land Registration Act, 2012 ("LRA") in two years from the commencement of the Act. Section 54(5) of the LRA empowers the Registrar of Land to issue titles or long-term leases if a sectional plan is presented upon registration as provided for in the Land Registration (General) Regulations (2017). The Act allows a developer, management company, or unit owner to initiate the above steps. The Sectional Properties Regulations gazetted on 26 November 2021 enable conversion of sub-leases to sectional units.