KENYA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Lorna Mainnah, Joseph Omwenga, June Lomaria and Herbert Karanja, Dentons Hamilton Harrison & Mathews
• Creation of the real estate portal, an online real estate portal to facilitate registration of real estate agents and projects. • Registering and licensing of real estate agents whose applications will be submitted to the Board in the prescribed forms. • The requirement that no real estate agent will facilitate the selling or renting of any parcel of land, apartment or building in a real estate project which is not registered under the Bill. • Prohibition of real estate agents from involve - ment in any unfair trade practices, such as making any false or misleading representa - tions. • Real estate project registration,wherereal estate developers will be required to register their projects before advertising, marketing, booking, selling, or inviting persons to pur - chase any plot, apartment or building in any real estate project. Further, where the Board revokes a licence granted to any developer, the Board may direct the developer’s bank to freeze its bank account. • Introduction of real estate developers’ duties, including responsibility for structural defects in a development; obtaining completion and occupation certificates and lease certificates; providing and maintaining essential services until the takeover of units by purchasers and paying service charges until physical transfer of possession to the purchasers. • Purchaser compensation if statements turn out to be false or incorrect – ie, providing purchaser protection mechanisms includ - ing compensation if a person makes a deposit based on the information contained in a notice, advertisement or prospectus, or based on any model apartment, plot or build - ing and sustains loss or damage because of a false statement. • Offences and penalties – Undertaking a real estate project without registration will attract
a fine of not less than KES5 million or impris - onment for a term not exceeding three years, or both. The Board also has the power to suspend, fine or revoke the licence of any real estate agent or developer convicted of an offence under the Bill. The Land Laws (Amendments) Bills, 2023 There are two versions of the Land Laws (Amend - ments) Bill, 2023 (the “Bills”): • the Land Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023 (National Assembly Bills No. 65), and • the Land Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023 (National Assembly Bills No. 76). The Bills seek to amend the following statutes: • the Land Act, 2012; • the Land Registration Act, 2012; • the National Land Commission Act, 2012; • the Registration of Documents Act; • the Land Control Act, Cap 302; • the Community Land Act, 2016, and • the Sectional Properties Act, 2020. The Bills are in the second reading stage of the bill process. Some of the notable proposed leg - islative amendments in the Bills include the fol - lowing. • The timeline for the review of grants and dispositions of public land – the Bills seek to remove the timeline requirements for the review of grants and dispositions of public land to establish their propriety or legality. The initial timeline was five years from the commencement of the Land Act. • A land rent review every ten years – the Bills introduce a periodical review of land rent and valuation of land for rent after every ten years
533 CHAMBERS.COM
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