If you have ever bought an apartment in Kenya and been handed a share of a long lease instead of a freehold title, you already know the problem. For most of Kenya's post-independence history, the country's land law had no mechanism to grant individual freehold title to a unit in a multi-storey building. The Sectional Properties Act 2020 fixed that β and every apartment buyer, developer, and mortgage lender in Kenya needs to understand what changed.
The Problem the Act Was Designed to Solve
Before 2020, Kenya had no dedicated legal framework for multi-unit properties. Developers of apartment blocks worked around this gap using long-term leasehold structures: the developer would hold the freehold title over the entire plot, then carve out 99-year leases for individual units. Buyers received a lease document rather than a title deed. Alternatively, some developers registered a company and sold shares in it to unit buyers β a structure whose security depended entirely on the integrity of the company's share register rather than any registered land interest.
The problems with these workarounds were real. A leasehold unit could not be sold or transferred as cleanly as freehold property. Banks were reluctant to lend against long-lease security, making it harder for buyers to access mortgage finance. Disputes between unit owners and the developer β or between unit owners themselves β were difficult to resolve because there was no defined legal framework for managing common areas, maintenance obligations, or levies. And when a developer went insolvent, unit buyers faced the risk that their lease interest could be compromised along with the developer's assets.
The Sectional Properties Act No. 21 of 2020 came into force in December 2020, repealing the limited 1987 version. It is administered by the Registrar of Titles under the Ministry of Lands, and works alongside the Land Registration Act 2012 and the Survey Act Cap 299. It applies to any building on freehold or government leasehold land containing two or more units capable of separate ownership.
The Core Concepts: Exclusive Sections and Common Property
Sectional property law divides a building and its land into two legally distinct categories: exclusive sections β the units themselves, owned individually β and common property β shared areas owned collectively by all unit owners as an undivided share proportional to each unit's participation quota. Understanding this distinction is the key to everything else in the Act.
- Your apartment's interior β living areas, bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms
- Any balcony or terrace exclusively allocated to your unit in the plan
- A designated storage room allocated to your unit as an exclusive section
- A parking bay designated as exclusive to your unit in the sectional plan
- Stairwells, lift shafts, corridors, and entrance lobbies
- The roof, external walls, and all structural columns and beams
- Shared parking courts, visitor parking, and vehicle access roads
- Gardens, swimming pools, gym facilities, and open communal space
- Electrical risers and water pipes serving multiple units
The Sectional Plan: The Foundation of Every Title
The sectional plan is not just a floor plan. It is a legally prescribed survey document β prepared and certified by a registered surveyor β that forms the basis on which the Registrar of Titles creates individual title deeds for each unit. Without a correctly prepared and approved sectional plan, no titles can be issued.
A compliant sectional plan must show: the boundaries of every exclusive section identified by unit number; the floor-to-floor or floor-to-ceiling boundaries defining each unit vertically; the allocation of all parking bays, storage areas, and balconies as exclusive sections or common property; the participation quota assigned to each unit; the location of the building on the plot; and all common property areas. It is drawn to scale, georeferenced to the national coordinate system, and certified by the surveyor as accurately representing the as-built building.
The sectional plan must reflect the as-built building β not the approved architectural drawings. If the building was constructed with any deviations from its approved plans, these must be regularised first. A plan prepared against architectural drawings without verifying as-built dimensions creates legal risk for every title deed issued from it.
Step by Step: How Sectional Titles Are Registered
The Corporation of Unit Owners
One of the most significant innovations of the Act is the Corporation of unit owners β a body corporate that comes into existence automatically the moment the sectional plan is registered. It is not a company requiring separate incorporation; it exists by operation of the Act. Every unit owner is automatically a member.
The Corporation manages, maintains, and repairs the common property. It collects levies from unit owners proportioned by participation quota, insures the building, enforces by-laws governing the use of units and common areas, and can sue or be sued in its own name. The practical effect is that each apartment block becomes a self-governing community β with a defined legal structure, enforceable obligations, and a funded maintenance account β rather than an informal collection of owners with no mechanism to make collective decisions or compel contributions to shared costs.
Before purchasing any sectional title unit, always request the Corporation's levy schedule, financial statements, and maintenance fund balance. A Corporation with a depleted fund, chronic levy arrears, or years of deferred building maintenance is a significant financial risk. These documents are a right of any prospective buyer β a seller who cannot produce them is a red flag.
What About Apartments Built Before 2020?
The Act applies retrospectively. Buildings constructed before 2020 and still operating under long-lease or share-of-company structures can be converted to sectional titles at any time β by commissioning a sectional survey and applying to the Land Registry. The conversion process is identical to the registration process for a new building, with one additional step: all existing lease interests must be surrendered and cancelled as part of the application.
Many Nairobi apartment owners are actively pursuing this conversion. Sectional freehold titles are significantly more attractive to banks as mortgage security than long leases β widening the pool of buyers who can access mortgage finance for units in older buildings, and consequently improving both the market value and the liquidity of those units.
Long Lease vs. Sectional Title: The Key Differences
| Feature | Long Lease (Pre-2020) | Sectional Title (Post-2020) |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of ownership | Leasehold interest β time-limited, dependent on developer's freehold | Freehold ownership of the unit β outright and perpetual |
| Mortgageability | Limited β many banks reluctant to lend against lease security | Fully mortgageable β accepted by banks at par with land titles |
| Transferability | Transfer may require lessor consent; can cause delays and costs | Independent transfer β same process as any freehold land title |
| Common area management | Informal or contractual β no statutory body with enforcement powers | Corporation of unit owners with defined levy-raising and enforcement powers |
| Developer insolvency risk | Lease may be compromised if developer's freehold is charged or lost | Unit titles are fully independent of the developer |
| Resale value | Buyers discount leasehold properties relative to freehold | Full freehold market value β comparable to stand-alone property titles |
Buyer's Checklist: Eight Things to Verify Before Purchase
ISK-Registered Sectional Title Surveys Across Kenya
Geopin's registered surveyors prepare legally compliant sectional plans for new developments and existing buildings seeking title conversion β delivered to Survey of Kenya and Land Registry standards.
Enquire About Sectional Surveys β