What are the various types of titles?

In Kenya there exist different types of title deeds as per various of land acts that have been existence. Examples are as follows;

Indenture

This was a tile under the Government Lands Act cap 280. This has since been repealed, but titles are still in existence.

Grant

There exists the government grant under Registration of Titles Act cap 281 and a county council grant under Trust Act Cap 288 (both repealed). Their respective titles are IR for inland registries, CR for Coastal Registries and RR for Rural registries.

Certificate of Title

This is a grant under cap 281 issued as a result of subdivision without change of user.

Certificate of lease

This is a title under the Registered Lands Act cap 300 (repealed) for leasehold land. Leasehold is a form of land tenure where a lessee holds rights to land for a specific period of time and subject to conditions imposed to land rights by the lessor (landowner). Examples in Kenya include 33,66 and 99 year government leases for urban plots.

Absolute Title

This is a title under the Registered Lands Act cap 300 (repealed) for freehold land. Freehold land ownership is a form of land tenure in which the land owner has the maximum rights to land without restrictions in terms of period of ownership and rights exercisable on the land. This is the most common title.

Sectional Title

This is a title for a unit within a building especially flats. It emanates from the sectional properties Act of 1987 and the title is deemed to be registered under the Registered Lands Act cap 300. The Land Registration Act, 2012 in section 26 consolidates the above several titles into the “Certificate of Title”. The aim is land acts which resulted in various types of titles existing concurrently.