Members of the public and stakeholders have been asked to submit memoranda on the proposed Land Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The clerk of the National Assembly Samuel Njoroge asked the public to submit their memoranda on the proposed legislation on or before Thursday December 28th, 2023.
The Bill, sponsored by Leader of the Majority Party Kimani Ichung’wah (Kikuyu) seeks to amend several Acts including Registration of Documents Act, the Land Control Act, the Land Registration Act, 2012, the Land Act, 2012, Community Land Act, 201 and the Sectional Properties Act, 2020.
If enacted into law, Kenyans will be able to access land records and perform land related transactions anywhere across the country.
This is because the Bill seeks to amend the Registration of Documents Act by decentralizing land registries as opposed to the current case where such services are only available in Nairobi and Mombasa.
In addition, the Bill also seeks to streamline registration of long-term leases within the provisions of the Sectional Properties Act, 2020 and also to widen the scope under which the registrar can revoke a title obtained through fraud by the proprietor.
To adapt to current property values, the Land Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 proposes a 10-year periodical review of land rent and valuation.
The Cabinet Secretary in charge of lands would be entrusted with handling compulsory land acquisition, eliminating potential conflicts of interest and delays in the acquisition process.
Besides seeking to amend a variety of land laws, the memorandum of objects of the Bill says that the Bill, if adopted and enacted into law, will “enhance efficiency in matters relating to grants and dispositions and compulsory acquisition.
To ensure compliance with the new provision, the Bill proposes to amend the Land Registration Act, 2012 to block registration of any land for which land rent has not been paid.
Further, the Bill seeks to amend the National Land Commission Act, 2012 to remove the time limits to review all grants and disposition of public land and to allow continuous receipt of historical land claims to be heard after 2026 by upholding the provision of beyond 10 years stated in a move that seeks to address historical land injustices.
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