Land ownership, title verification, governance and safer transactions.
Search the official Constitution →The Constitution classifies all land in Kenya as public, private or community, and recognises two main forms of ownership — freehold and leasehold. Land is governed by the National Land Commission and the Ministry of Lands, and records are increasingly handled on the digital Ardhisasa platform.
Articles 61–63; Articles 61–67Land in Kenya is mainly held as freehold (absolute, indefinite ownership) or leasehold (ownership for a fixed period, usually 99 years). There is also community land and sectional ownership for units like apartments.
Articles 63–65A title deed is the legal proof of land ownership. Before buying or lending against land, you can confirm the true owner and any loans or disputes by conducting an official land search — now done online through Ardhisasa or eCitizen.
Land is governed mainly by two institutions: the National Land Commission, which manages public land and oversees land policy, and the Ministry of Lands, which registers land and issues titles. Both operate under the 2012 land laws.
Article 67; Articles 67 and 162Buying land safely comes down to verifying before you pay: search the title, confirm the seller is the registered owner, visit the land, use a lawyer, and clear all costs like stamp duty before the transfer is registered.
