We covered the different ways in which land is categorized in
Kenya from Agricultural, industrial, residential to commercial in another blog.
In case you missed it, the blog is available on Categories
of Real Estate in Kenya
Whether you are seeking to change or convert
use of land from agricultural land to commercial land or changing land use from
residential to commercial this guide will help you understand the process of
applying for a change of user in Kenya.
To learn how to change land user on Ardhisasa, use
this guide on how to use ardhisasa to change land user in Nairobi.
In summary, below are the requirements for
application for a change of user.
1. Two
Dully filled P.P.A 1 forms in triplicate submitted and signed by a Registered
Physical Planner
2. Planning
Brief prepared by a Registered Physical Planner (signed accordingly)
3. Ownership
documents (Title Deeds)
4. Survey plan
5. Comprehensive
Location Plan
6. Advertisement
of proposal on:
a. Two
local dailies
b. On
site
7. Application
fee receipt
8. Latest
Rates payment receipts
Professional
& Statutory Costs for
a change in user.
The Statutory & Professionals Costs involved for the change of user
application are summarized below:
1. Change
of User Application fee (Counties charge differently depending on location or
the change sought)
2. PPA
1 form fee
3. Newspaper
Advertisements (Two daily newspapers)
4. Professional
Fee (Depends on the size of the project and the area the property is located)
The power
to control land use and development in Kenya is vested in the County
Governments. The owner
or the legal entity of any property, who intends to develop his/her land for
any purpose other than that earmarked in the approved Master Plan, will make an
application, along with relevant documents, to the respective County
Governments’ Department of Physical Planning for consideration through a
registered physical planner. Change
of user from residential or single-dwelling to multi-dwelling involves the
initial application and approval stage at the local authorities and the final
approval and processing of the title at the Department of Lands.
It is advisable that prior to acquiring a piece of land, to know the user
of the property especially for developers as the process itself can prove to be
very expensive and time consuming. Most people buy agricultural property with
the intention of developing it for real estate purposes without knowing its
use, this can be very detrimental as one cannot be able to develop the property
without a change of user approval.
Step1:
Advertisement in Local dailies
Place an advertisement in
at least two (2) local dailies of wide circulation giving fourteen (14) days’
notice of the intended change of user and inviting comments and/or objections,
if any. Upon expiry of the notice period and subject to no adverse
comments/objections, you can then submit the application at the local
authorities.
Step
2: Application
to Local
Authorities
Prepare a planning brief by the registered
physical planner which is then submitted to the governing county government
physical department for approval together with payment. Application is done using Form PPA1(in triplicate) duly signed by a registered physical
planner. In the application, include
such plans and particulars as are necessary to indicate the purposes of the
development, and in particular the proposed use and density, and the land which
the applicant intends to surrender either for purposes of access or public
purposes connected to the development.
The local authority to which a development application has been made is
required within 30 days of receipt of the application to refer the same to the
Director of Physical Planning for his comments. In addition, referral may be
made to the other related government offices for comment including the
Commissioner of Lands, Chief Engineer (Roads), Chief Public Health Officer and
the Director of Agriculture. In considering such an application, a number of
factors are considered such as a physical development of the area, the land
reference and title, where applicable, defined location and size of the land,
current user of the land, proposed/intended user, area zoning regulations and
whether due notification has been made for the proposed development.
The local authority upon receiving comments
of no objection from the said offices may issue its approval to the development
application with or without conditions or may on the other hand refuse to grant
its approval. The Physical Planning Act requires the local authority to
communicate its decision in regard to a development application within thirty
days to the applicant specifying the conditions pertaining to the approval or
in the case of a refusal, the grounds for the same. The law also makes
provisions for appeal incase an applicant is dissatisfied with any decision of
the local authority.
Approval by the local authorities is in the
prescribed form PPA 2. Upon obtaining the approval, a developer may commence
construction within two (2) years from the date of the approval subject to
obtaining a licence from the National Environmental Management Authority
(NEMA). In considering whether or not to grant a licence, NEMA looks at both
the conditions of approval by the local authorities i.e. form PPA2 and the
proposed architectural designs.
Step
3: Application
to the Lands
Office
The Commissioner of Lands bears the onus to
approve the change of user and set the pace for its effecting into the
ownership documents. At the lands office, the Commissioner of Lands receives
the application and the approval form -PPA2 in a correspondence file. The work
is then assigned to a lands’ officer of the level of Chief Lands Officer, on
behalf of the Commissioner.
From the Commissioner’s office is sent forth
a circulation letter seeking comments from the Director of Survey and Director
of Physical Planning. The comments from the two directors are then brought back
to the Commissioner who then sends the Chief Lands Officer to the property. The
officer compiles a Ground Report. With this, the property owner is then allowed
to proceed with an Official Search to ensure every detail is in the file.
The file is then circulated vertically within
the Commissioner of Lands hierarchy as follows: First, to the Chief Lands
Officer, secondly, the Principal Lands Officer, thirdly the Assistant
Commissioner of Lands. The file is then taken for a Technical Approval
Committee (TAC) where issues pertaining to the land and its change of user are
discussed and ratified. Minutes of the TAC are then circulated to the Deputy
Director of Survey who forwards it to the Commissioner of Lands.
If there are no objections relating or
incidental to the application, the file is then sent back to the Lands Officer
who handled it who then drafts the approval letter (on behalf of the
Commissioner of Lands) complete with new conditions and demands to be met.
Among the conditions requested include need for new deed plans and new titles
which will call for the property to be resurveyed. The Survey Act (Cap.299)
provides for the modalities to survey private land. Validation and approval of
the change of user by the Director of Surveys signifies the call for resurvey
of the property in question. In this case, the property owner is counseled to
seek services of a registered surveyor to draw new deed plans for the property,
which are then approved by the Director of Survey who will then commission the
confirmation, erection and/or re-erection of the beacons of the new property.
The survey process has 8 stages that culminate to approval by the Director of
Survey where also a new land reference number is issued for the property.
With the resurvey and deed plans complete,
the applicant fills up an application form to apply for new titles from the
Land Registrar. The applicant then surrenders the old title(s) and the new deed
plan(s) to the Registrar who then files a deed file.
The registrar then proceeds to process new title(s) for the property
with the new user included and the new attendant conditions.
Conclusion:
The back-and-forth process of effecting a
change of user is a long- winding and tedious process that requires much
knowledge and patience. It is always important to engage professionals in this
process. If you wish to obtain a change of user approval in Kenya, please
do not hesitate to contact Steddy Trading
Real Estate on 0722244971 or call us on 0726982982. Alternatively, you
can write to us on [email protected]
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