Following the enactment of the Sectional Properties Act no.21 of 2020) on 11th December 2020, the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning put out a public notice calling for the conversion of all long term subleases intended to confer ownership of apartments, flats, maisonettes, townhouses, villas, godowns or offices that do not conform to section 54(5) of the Land Registration Act, 2012 which states that ‘the Registrar shall register long-term leases and issue certificates of lease over apartments, flats, maisonettes, townhouses or offices having the effect of conferring ownership, if the property comprised is properly geo-referenced and approved by the statutory body responsible for the survey of land.’
The Ministry of Lands and physical planning has embarked on the process of conversion of long-term leases registered based on architectural drawings to conform to the Sectional Properties Act, 2020 and the Land Registration Act, 2012.
The following documents are required to facilitate the process of conversion:
i. Sectional plan
ii. Original title
iii. Long term lease previously registered
iv. Rent apportionment for the unit where applicable
Upon conversion and/or registration, the original registers shall be closed and new registers opened with respect to each of the units on the plan.
No additional costs on stamp duty shall be incurred by the owner(s) of the property if they had paid the requisite stamp duty fees when registering the long-term leases.
Should you be among those affected by this new law, kindly contact us via legal@jradvocates.com for assistance in conversion.