Legal

Person A bought a parcel of land in the 80’s and was irregularly issued with a Certificate of Title by the Nairobi land registry. Over the years there have been subsequent transfers. Currently, the land is lawfully registered to Person B who has constructed a development consisting of 100 apartments for sale after acquiring all the necessary approvals. The development was ranked as the best place to live in Nairobi in 2022, subsequently, all the apartments quickly sold off.

As a buyer or a real estate investor, it is important to dot your i’s and cross your t’s before getting into a legally binding agreement with a seller. The principle of Caveat Emptor, a Latin phrase meaning “buyer be aware” places a responsibility on a buyer to sufficiently perform their due diligence before making any purchase.

In contract law, warranties and indemnities are two common forms of contractual provisions that provide remedies for breach of contract. These terms are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct differences in terms of the extent of liability, the proof required, and the obligations of the parties. Below we discuss the differences between warranties and indemnities in terms of damages, mitigation, disclosure, proof of loss, and the buyer's knowledge of the breach.

Warranties and indemnities are essential elements in any agreement for sale. The distinction between warranties and indemnities is critical as the remedies to which an innocent party will be entitled to will differ. Today, we discuss the differences, the consequences of a breach, and what you need to know before allowing or disapproving a warranty or an indemnity in an agreement for sale.

Recently, Justice Munyao Sila of the Environmental and Land Court made a landmark judgement in Oganga & another v Orangi & 3 others (Environment & Land Case 466 of 2015) [2023] KEELC 16348 (KLR) (22 March 2023), granting parents the liberty to sell their land or property without consulting their children. This precedent-setting judgment ended an eight-year protracted land dispute pitting a parent and two buyers on one side and his two sons on the other.

In Kenya, a side agreement also referred to as a side letter or supplemental agreement, is a separate document that is signed by two or more parties to an existing agreement. It contains additional terms and conditions not included in the original agreement and/or seeks to clarify certain provisions of the original agreement.

In Kenya, landlords have the right to perform due diligence on potential tenants to ensure that they are suitable and can meet their rental obligations. This involves requesting tenants for their identification documents and performing background checks on them by inquiring about their credit history, sources of income, employment status and references from former landlords. On the other hand, tenants have the right to privacy which involves them issuing consent before their personal information is accessed or processed by a landlord.

Ardhisasa is a digital platform, launched on 27th April 2021 to help streamline the process of buying and selling land in Kenya. The platform seeks to improve land management in Kenya by resolving the numerous historical land problems experienced by Kenyans by providing a centralized, transparent and efficient system for land ownership, transfer and registration. The platform offers services relating to due diligence; land registration of cautions, leases, charges, replacement of title; land administration processes such as payment of land rents, extension and renewal of lease; physical planning activities such as the acquisition of approvals for development; valuation of property; adjudication and settlement; and land allocation by the National Land Commission.

One of the most frustrating things for any landlord is dealing with tenants who persistently default in paying rent when it becomes due. Non-payment or late payment of rent amounts to a breach of contract and the law grants a landlord the right to claim and recover any rent amount that is in arrears. The law provides the following legal remedies a landlord may pursue to recover unpaid rent

In commercial settings, the terms ‘lease’, ‘license’, and ‘tenancy’ have been interpreted and used interchangeably to mean the same thing. However, each of these terms is different, possess unique features and imposes different rights and obligations on the parties involved. It is important to distinguish the terms to be aware of which agreement to or not to bind yourself into in order to guarantee you full rights and protection in cases of disputes.