A
million dollar question is who is eligible to acquire agricultural land in
Kenya for sale? We have answered that question in our previous postings that
anybody whether local or foreigner can buy agricultural land in Kenya. Of
course, there are some limitations for non-citizens who can only get land on
leasehold for a period not exceeding 99 years. That piece of information is in
the laws of the land and it has generated so many questions which we are going
to address as we make progress in the discussion. Like for instance, after the
99 years what happen next? According to section 13 of the Land Act, the land
can be released to the most immediate lessee if he or she is a Kenyan national.
This pre-emptive right is subject to the availability of that land meaning
that, if the land is not needed by the authority (government) for public
interest the land will be given out for the second lease. However, this is only
applicable to citizens and not foreigners.
The other area of concern is “can a foreigner register a company to get a freehold land?” The advantages that come with freehold land has made many foreigners look for ways of enjoying the benefits attached. Nonetheless, the law doesn’t allow that. The law only considers those companies whose ownership is a 100% Kenyan. Where there are one or more directors in the company, such entity will be considered to be of foreign nature and cannot get agricultural land in Kenya for sale or any other land for that matter on the freehold basis.This condition is also applicable to trust. The law prevents non-citizens from owning freehold property under trust too.
The other area of concern is “can a foreigner register a company to get a freehold land?” The advantages that come with freehold land has made many foreigners look for ways of enjoying the benefits attached. Nonetheless, the law doesn’t allow that. The law only considers those companies whose ownership is a 100% Kenyan. Where there are one or more directors in the company, such entity will be considered to be of foreign nature and cannot get agricultural land in Kenya for sale or any other land for that matter on the freehold basis.This condition is also applicable to trust. The law prevents non-citizens from owning freehold property under trust too.
Finally,
and this is in relation to our point of focus on acquiring agricultural land in
Kenya for sale. The law provides that under the Land Control Act, “the Land
Control Board shall refuse consent to the transfer of any agricultural land to
a person who is not a citizen of Kenya”. However, the Act also provides that a
“non-citizen can only own agricultural land if it is an initial grant from the
Government or after obtaining a presidential exemption to acquire the
agricultural land”. On this point, it seemingly suggests that a public company
can own agricultural land even if its ownership is a mixture of citizens and
non-citizen. But other than that, the same is not applicable for a private
company whose ownership is composed of both citizens and foreign shareholders.
In the case of the private entity, all the shareholders must be Kenyan citizens
in order to own agricultural land. Now having known what the law allows and
prohibits, you must be careful when intending to put up an investment in
agricultural land in Kenya for sale or any other land for that matter. This
article is meant to help you do a thorough due diligence so that you do not
loose from the beginning. You can always talk to us at West Kenya Real Estate
using our contact on this site for all the concerns you have and we will help
you professionally.
