Conversion is the process of migrating all parcels from the repealed land registration statutes to a unitary regime under the Land Registration Act, 2012.

It entails the following: (i) Preparation of cadastral maps together with a conversion list, (ii) Publication of the cadastral maps together with a conversion list, (iii) Lodgment and consideration of complaints, (iv) Closure of old registers and commencement of transactions in the new register (v) Application for replacement of title documents from the old registers.

The date is captured in the Gazette Notice No. 11348 of December 31, 2020. It is also indicated in an advert appearing in the MyGov pullout of The Star of 12th January, 2021. This is in respect of parcels within Nairobi City County. The Ministry aims to complete the migration process in the entire Country by December, 2022.

A land owner will be required to present an application to the Registrar in Form 97 and attach thereto the original title and copies of their identification documents.

It is absolutely free

No. Deed plans shall be replaced by RIMs (Registry Index Maps) as registration instruments. Boundaries will thus not be affected because RIMs are generated from existing survey plans.

The survey maps will be made available to you on request.

The conversion process does not affect ownership. Your title shall be replaced with a title under the Land Registration Act, 2012. In any case the replaced (old) title will be placed under safe custody by the registrar.

The complaint is submitted in writing to the registrar in Form LRA 96 in respect of information contained in the conversion list and the cadastral maps.

The law requires a registrar to resolve the complaints submitted within 90 days. A complainant can also apply to the registrar in Form LRA 67 for registration of a caution pending the clarification or resolution of any complaint.

Gazette Notice on conversion, publication of the cadastral maps together with a conversion list in daily newspapers, Cabinet Secretary’s specification of date for commencement of transactions or dealings within the registration unit and replacement notices in newspapers and radio announcements.

Title documents held by third parties including banks, hospitals, courts etc. shall ONLY be replaced on the application by a proprietor. The proprietor will thus have to liaise with the third party to facilitate the replacement process.

No, the conversion process does not involve changes in ownership.

The existing encumbrances against the title shall automatically be migrated to the new register.

All prescribed forms under the Land Registration Act, 2012 can be downloaded from the Ministry’s website under the “Resources” tab.      

• Right to participate in economic activities in the country
• Right to preserve their cultural way of life in line with article 11 of the Constitution
• Right to representation in land governance institutions and participation in land related decision making processes.
• Right of access to the shore lines of lakes and rivers and public fish landing sites for fishing communities to enable them carry out their economic activities
• Right of access to community forests for hunter gatherers communities to sustain their livelihoods.
• Right of access to communally held land for grazing purposes for the Pastoral communities

The Constitution defines a “marginalized group” as a group of people who, because of laws or practices before, on, or after the effective date, were or are disadvantaged by discrimination on one or more of the following grounds; including race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth.

The Constitution defines a “marginalised community” as ;

1. A community that, because of its relatively small population or for any other reason, has been unable to fully participate in the integrated social and economic life of Kenya as a whole; or
2. A traditional community that, out of a need or desire to preserve its unique culture and identity from assimilation, has remained outside the integrated social and economic life of Kenya as a whole; or
3. An indigenous community that has retained and maintained a traditional lifestyle and livelihood based on a hunter or gatherer economy; or 
4. Pastoral persons and communities, whether they are nomadic or a settled community that, because of its relative geographic isolation, has experienced only marginal participation in the integrated social and economic life of Kenya as a whole.

The constitution of Kenya defines an ‘adult’ as an individual who has attained the age of eighteen years. For the purpose of determining rights accruing to the youth, there is need to appreciate that the constitution regards youths as adults and thus;

• Each youth has the right to ownership, access and control of land and property.
• Though the right to inherit from their parents is discretionary, in the event of inheritance by the siblings, both daughters and sons have equal rights.

Orphans have the right to access and use their parents land and property whether or not it is held in trust by an appointed and responsible adult member of the immediate family. Upon reaching the age of 18, they have the right to be registered as the rightful owners of land and the properties previously held by their deceased parents.

A ‘child” means an individual who has not attained the age of eighteen years in Kenya. Generally, children cannot own land or property in their own right as children. However, land and property can be held on trust for their benefit and use

• Women have a right to acquire and own land whether individually or as a group.
• Daughters have the right to inherit their parents’ land and property.
• Women have a right to be elected and or appointed into land governance institutions.
• Married women have the right to joint ownership of land and property acquired during marriage.
• Married women have the right to transact on land in consultation with their husbands and vice versa.
• Widows have the right to inherit their deceased husband’s land and property.

The spouse will not only share benefit but liabilities on the matrimonial property.

Any liability incurred by a spouse before the marriage and relating to the property shall, after marriage, remain the liability of the spouse who incurred it. If the property becomes matrimonial then it shall be equally shared by the spouses and unless they otherwise agreed. The law states that parties to marriage shall equally share the liability incurred during the subsistence of the marriage for the benefit of the marriage or reasonable and justifiable expenses incurred for the benefit of marriage.

The husband or wife may acquire beneficial interests that are equal to the amount of contribution made by the spouse.

It means any property that is owned or leased by one or both spouses and occupied or utilized by the spouses as their family home, and includes any other attached property

Matrimonial Property Act of (2013) the matrimonial property act provides that married women has the same rights as married man to acquire, administer, hold, control, use and dispose of property whether movable or immovable; enter into contract and sue and be sued in her own name.

We mean women should not only have access to land as the right but also enter upon and use land, exercise control over land as one’s ability to make decisions with regard to the land. These include the ability to:

• determine the size of land used for farming activities and whether the land will be used for food or cash crop production.
• transfer land titles, whether by sale or inheritance (land ownership)

Section 40 of the Constitution of Kenya stipulates that every person has right to own land of any description in any part of Kenya. The National Land policy 1.5.1 (7), (c), (d) put more emphasis on gender equity and land rights.

This is when there is no will left by the deceased (intestate). In case the deceased left one surviving spouse and a child or children, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to:

• The personal and household effects of the deceased
• The intestate property but cannot sell this intestate property as the spouse is holding it on behalf of the children. If the spouse remarries, he/she loses his/her entitlement to the intestate property. Where the deceased has left a surviving child or children but no spouse, the intestate property will be transferred to the surviving child or divided equally among the surviving children. Where the deceased left no surviving spouse or children, the intestate shall be transferred in this order of priority: • Father; or if dead, • Mother; or if dead • Brothers and sisters, and any child or children of deceased brothers and sisters, in equal shares; or if none
• Half -brothers and half-sisters, and any child or children of deceased half-brothers and half-sisters, in equal shares; or if none
• Distant relatives up to the sixth degree in equal shares. If the deceased is not survived by any of the above, then the intestate property estate shall be taken up by the state.

A will can be revoked, altered and revived only by the maker at the time when he is competent to dispose of his property. This can only happen when the maker takes some action to indicate that he/she no longer wants the will to be binding. For this to be effective, the intent of the maker, whether express or implied must be clear and an act of revocation consistent with this intent must take place

It means:

• The wife or wives, or former wife or wives, and the children of the deceased whether or not maintained by the deceased before his death.
• The deceased’s parent, step parents, grand-parents, grandchildren, step- children, children whom the deceased had taken into his family as his own,
• Brother and sisters, and half -brothers and half-sisters, who were being maintained by the deceased before his death.
• Where the deceased is a woman, her husband if he was being maintained by her before her death.

A written will must have the following characteristics:

• It must be signed by the maker.
• Incase its signed by somebody other than the maker, then this should be done in the presence of the maker and under his/her directions.
• It must me witnessed by two or more witnesses and these witnesses MUST NOT be beneficiaries in the will otherwise there shall be need of an additional two witnesses.
• If the maker of the will refers to another document in his will, the document shall be considered as part of the will as long as it is verified that it is the exact same document the maker was referring to in his/her will.
• An executor shall not be disqualified as a witness to prove execution of the will or to prove the validity or invalidity of the will.
• If the dependent or dependents feel that the deceased’s will does not provide adequately for their needs, they may make an application to the Court.
• The Court may order a specific share of the property be given to the dependent (s) or periodical payments or lump sum payment.

It is only valid if;

• Made before 2 or more competent witnesses;
• The maker dies within 3 months of making it;
• An oral will made by a member of the armed forces during a period of active service shall be valid if the maker of the will dies during the same period of active service even if he/she dies more than 3 months after making the will;
• If there is any conflict in evidence of witnesses as to what was said by the deceased in making an oral will, the oral will shall not be valid except if the contents can be proved by a competent independent witness.

The system has been designed to provide for self-registration where members of the public can register. For further assistance, kindly call our customer care desk.

Click on the “Register” button on the landing page, select the category of registration and follow the steps up to the point of password creation.

Kindly note that the Identification number required is the one from your I.D. card. Please make sure you have successfully registered before trying to login.

Kindly note that the ID serial number is located on the top left corner of your ID Card, labeled “SERIAL NUMBER”

Yes you can, but kindly note that only parcels in Nairobi are available for transaction on the Ardhisasa platform

Kindly refresh or clear your browser cache and retry the registration process again. The system should redirect you to where you got stuck while registering. For further assistance contact our customer care desk.

Kindly note that the Identification number required is the one from your I.D no. Please make sure you have successfully registered before trying to login

You need to use the serial number of your renewed I.D. If you encounter difficulties during registration because of the serial number, it may be because the old serial number is still in use, in which case you will have to visit Huduma Centre near you for assistance.

Kindly refresh or clear your browser cache and retry the registration process again. The system should redirect you to where you got stuck while registering. For further assistance contact our customer care desk.

Kindly confirm whether you completed registration to the point of password creation. For further assistance, contact our customer care desk.

Kindly refresh or clear your browser cache and retry the registration process again. The system should redirect you to where you got stuck while registering

Yes, registration on the Ardhisasa platform is open to all Kenyans.

Yes you can, with her consent. Kindly inform her that it is only through Ardhisasa that she can carry out land transactions for parcels in Nairobi.

We are in the process of integrating Ardhisasa with the Immigration department so that we can be able to get verified personal information to make it possible for customers to transact.

Currently, transactions for foreigners and customers with alien IDs will proceed manually until we get a way to verify their personal details.

Phone number or email? If it the phone OTP, kindly check with your mobile subscriber whether you have blocked promotional messages and make sure you have a stable reception

Kindly check with your mobile subscriber whether you have blocked promotional messages and make sure you have a stable reception

In full OTP is (One Time Pin) which is an added security measure that ensures you are in control of the logins required in the system.

This might have occurred when you requested too many OTP at once, kindly retry the registration process again and you should be able to proceed

This might have occurred when you requested too many OTP at once, kindly retry the registration process again and you should be able to proceed

Successful registration will send the individual an SMS on the same, if you registered successfully, you should be able to login

Photo uploads are in jpeg and jpg with these formats you can be able to upload.

Currently, photo uploads are a one-off process, kindly read through the disclaimers indicated in the system before proceeding with the uploads

Kindly elaborate on this. Was the photo uploaded or nor? If it failed, kindly check the file format and size of the photo to be uploaded. Should be either jpg or jpeg and should not exceed 1MB size

Kindly follow the procedure to upload, the name of the photo to be uploaded should reflect below the provided area and by clicking on upload photo that should do it

Block based parcel number, kindly note for this to happen, your parcel should have gone through the conversion process.

Under the “Add property” section, kindly select on the joint ownership option and add the parties holding the property jointly.

For parcels in Nairobi, kindly register in the Ardhisasa platform, navigate to search and follow the simple steps provided

Currently, search applications are free

The vendor/seller should give you a copy of the title to enable you carry out a search at the relevant Registry

Yes this is possible, but the results will be availed once the proprietor verifies the search request.

Kindly make an application at your respective Registry.

Yes you can. Kindly make an application at your respective Registry.

Please visit the relevant Registry where the property was registered and make an application for a search.

This means that the proprietor needs to give you consent in order to get your search results.

In order to get a search result, the owner has to register in the system, navigate to the “Add property” section and add the property in question and once this information is verified by the ministry, you should be able to conduct a search. Kindly note that the search results have to be verified by the owner in order to be availed to you

Kindly note, for accountability and credibility, these applications are applied for by an advocate on your behalf, kindly contact an advocate/lawyer in order to access this service

Kindly note that only professionals that are legally allowed to conduct land matters have been captured in the system.

If you have no other supporting document on the same, those should be sufficient for verification with your professional body

Kindly note that once this is done you should be able to get a notification on the same.

Land rent penalties are charged at one percent per month.

Land rates are paid to the county government, the Ardhisasa system will provide information concerning rent which is collected by the national government

A leasehold title is indicated as Certificate of Lease and it shows term and rent. A freehold Title is indicated as Title Deed and has neither term nor rent.

Where rent is indicated as Peppercorn it means that no rent is payable although the property is leasehold.

Kindly note that the extension of lease is conducted by the National Land Commission (NLC) and not Ministry of Lands.

You can make an application through your Advocate.

Removal of Caution is when the registered proprietor applies for a caution placed on his property by a third party to be removed, whereas withdrawal of caution is when the person who placed the caution seeks to have it removed.

Kindly apply for a transfer through an advocate. Once the transfer is processed the title will be issued.

Thank you for your feedback. Kindly note that this process is already underway.

Thank you for the feedback, Ardhisasa has been developed meticulously to ensure optimum user interaction, and security.

Welcome. You may start with registration on the top right corner of the site.

Ardhisasa is a one-stop shop for all land transactions, currently covering Nairobi area.
For information on Ministry activities go to lands.go.ke.

Please note that the Ardhisasa app is currently under development. In the meantime, you can carry out land transaction on this platform on phone or computer using your browser.

Yes, we will be sharing video tutorials to guide the public on how to navigate and use Ardhisasa.

Yes. Ardhisasa is now the only digital platform for all land transactions in Nairobi

Yes. You can get a map by making a plan requisition application on Ardhisasa

Ardhisasa deals with property. No. Share transfer is registered by the registrar of companies, and Excise duty is charged by the Kenya Revenue Authority, hence cannot be handled by the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning. You can only register and make application to the Ministry for services done by the Ministry.

The land value index is still being updated. When done, you will be able to have a range of acceptable pricing for land

Kindly send the complaint to info@ardhi.go.ke for further investigation and action

Currently, only the Nairobi Registry has been digitalized. The data in the system has been taken through rigorous verification process to ensure its validity, completeness and accuracy.

Certificate of lease is the ownership document for a leasehold property

Subdivision, amalgamation, new grant, re-survey, extension of lease

OTP code is sent to your phone. If you are not receiving OTP codes on your phone it means you have blocked your phone from receiving promotional messages. Please unblock the promotional messages

The cadaster for Nairobi County is already done. The whole of Nairobi has been divided into blocks. The conversion of LR numbers into blocks is ongoing. We have developed a manual to guide the process and the same shall be made public in due course. Digitization has simplified the conversion process.

Our files have always been available. All our files for Nairobi County are on a digital platform, therefore there shall be no need for a physical file

A transaction that has already commenced and some steps have taken place can only be done manually as before. Transactions in the system require that every step be done through the system.

The system always asks you to verify the information you have given before submitting

Ardhisasa is independent and has no connection with e-citizen. In conducting a search, the critical issue is the parcel number and getting approval/consent of the registered proprietor. Uploading a copy of the title is no longer a requirement in conducting a search in the system

Government of Kenya/Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning. The costs of surveying and geo-referencing incurred by the Ministry shall be in relation to already registered sectional properties under the registration of documents act.

No. The Ministry has set aside a team of surveyors to handle the issues of survey on demand

Yes. In case a parcel is not captured on Ardhisasa the applicant/owner shall be directed to the Ministry for clarification.

All transactions not subjected to valuation shall take a maximum of three (3) days to complete from the date of submission depending on how first the client makes the payment.

Eight (8) days. The client has an option of using a private valuer when completing the application for valuation on Ardhisasa.

All transactions handled by the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning and registered in the Ministry shall be accessible on the Ardhisasa platform.

No. The Ministry has set aside a team of surveyors to handle the issues of survey on demand for sectional properties free of cost

The law allows for electronic stamping of documents. The system has been configured to pick up payments and automatically reflect the same on the parcel account.

NO. The process is ongoing and all parcels including leases from country Government shall be converted to conform to the Land Registration Act no 3 of 2012.

Yes, you register in the system as an individual, or as a company, add the details of the property before one is able to initiate any transaction in the system. The verification exercise shall be done only once

The old LIMS was shut down before the launch of the current system. (Ardhisasa/NLIMS). However, the ongoing transactions received by the ministry before the launch shall be completed through the normal process.

Applications shall be made, received, and processed on an electronic format through Ardhisasa platform. However, the Land Registration Act, 2012, recognizes a certificate of Lease and a certificate of title. In that regard, a physical paper title, shall be generated and issued as prove of ownership.

Yes, the system is currently available in Nairobi. However, the system shall be rolled into the other counties on phases. Starting with Nairobi Metropolis, then the rest of the country.

Yes, you register as a company or as an individual then add the property. Please note that a company is a legal entity (a legal person). In a case where the property is registered in the name of the company, the Director(s) shall login as a company.

Yes, the system allows you to register as an individual or as a company

We have uploaded a pictorial guide demonstrating how to register as an individual or a company and the services offered on Ardhisasa platform.

All is not lost; the Ministry shall issue advice on the way forward with respect to submission of such transactions.

The service is available on Ardhisasa platform under the department of Physical Planning and Land Administration.

The Ministry is addressing and shall continue to address the issue of missing land records. Where the records are not traced, the process to reconstruct shall follow. Going forward, there shall be no issues of missing files because all the records shall be kept in digital format

When you login, put your ID number as the username name.

The service is available on Ardhisasa platform under the National Land Commission Services. Title processing arising from letter of allotment shall be initiated through platform as long as payments have not been effected.

Login to Ardhisasa platform. CLICK account, upgrade account, select the profession, enter registration number, upload registration certificate and other relevant documents, verify and submit. A notification will be sent to your phone or email upon approval.

Yes, the service is available on Ardhisasa platform under the department of Land Administration

NO. Currently, we are working on Nairobi properties and the process of uploading the data is ongoing

NO, ALL applications relating to Nairobi blocks, shall initiated electronically through Ardhisasa platform. You may upload the documents already executed when making the application, however registration shall be done online

No, for security reasons, OTP is timed to last only for 2 minutes. Every login generates a new OTP number.

For now, use the Practicing Certificate for the previous year.

YES, however some services require that they be initiated by a professional and in that case, one has to register as professional before initiating such transaction/service.

All professional firms shall be registered like any other companies. The requirement to register a company is: company registration number, official company mobile number (registered using the company registration certificate or the director’s ID number), company email address, password and ensure you have updated your information with BRS.

Huduma number shall be incorporated into the system once operationalized.

Identity Card serial number.

Yes, a Bank is a company