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OPINION

By Justus Kamuhanda

Having noticed that many Ugandans have been scammed in land transactions, I am prompted to advise the potential buyers to be aware before making any land transactions.

In Uganda, buying land is everyone’s dream. Unfortunately, Uganda has many fraudsters who purport to sell that which they do not have title or the authority to sell.

Therefore, it is necessary for buyers of land to conduct due diligence.

Steps in conducting due diligence paying for land

Step 1: Pay a physical visit to the land. The first step in due diligence is to conduct a site visit.

Apart from ensuring that the land exists, a physical visit will enable you to assess the economic and social infrastructure of the area. During your visit, talk to the local authorities and neighbours who will give you more information about the land that you may not get at the lands ministry.

Step 2: Research at the lands ministry. The next step is to conduct an official search at the lands ministry.

The seller of the land will need to give you or your broker or lawyer a recently certified copy of the title of the land.

With the title copy, one proceeds to either electronically search online, at MLHUD UGNLIS (at a cost of sh10,000 for each search), or by making a physical application for official search at the ministry zonal office.

You can search for your zonal office here. The result will give you the details about your office (contact, address, opening hours) and its position on a map.

The land title search results will yield the following information:

• The name of the registered proprietor/owner of the land.
• Any encumbrances over the land such as charges, (where the land had previously been charged or mortgaged to a financial institution), registered caveats, cautions, or restrictions on the land, as well as other third-party rights such as existing easements and licences.
• The land tenure system (freehold, leasehold, mailo or customary – explained in further detail below).
• If the property is a leasehold title, check for the remaining duration of the lease. With this information, the prospective buyer of the land would be able to ascertain whether or not the prospective seller of the land is the actual owner of the land.

The other information on the land would guide the buyer in making an informed decision; whether or not to proceed with the transaction.

Step 3: Know the land tenure system.

There are presently four types of land tenure systems in Uganda; leasehold, customary, freehold and mailo land.

Step 4: Consult the Local Council. Involving the LC1 leaders in land transactions is important to offer guidance on the history of the land to identify boundaries mostly, if it is customary land.

“The role of LC1 is like that of the neighbour of the land that is being sold. Their purpose is to confirm the boundaries and sometimes they act as whistleblowers in case of red flags. However, beware that they have no legal obligation in issuing or signing land documents in other tenures save for customary.

Step 5: Get the consent of family members. The land transaction can be considered fraudulent if all parties/beneficiaries that have a stake in the ownership are not involved during the transaction, mostly if it is family land.

Step 6: Get a licensed surveyor. Any potential purchaser must conduct a boundary opening to confirm whether the boundaries are consistent with the particulars on the certificate of title of the land one intends to purchase, mostly if the land is lease, freehold and private mailo.

Step 7: Draft a sales agreement. A well-written sales agreement is critical to ensure both the buyer and seller are protected. The sales agreement will be drafted by the buyer with all terms and conditions agreed on by both parties.

This will include all the demarcations, sums, payment schedules and dispute settlement methods in case issues arise concerning the land.

Step 8: Payment of property rates. Property rates is property tax on the value of any property used for business (even rentals), paid to the local government.

The seller of the property should clear any outstanding property rates before completing the transaction. Therefore, the buyer needs to satisfy himself or herself that any arrears have been cleared by the seller.

Step 9: Payment of stamp duty and acquisition of the land title. Once you have completed your land purchase, it is vital to secure the title in order to prevent it from being grabbed from you.

If you don’t hold the title, you may find yourself losing your land.

Before the title can be transferred into your name, stamp duty must first be paid.

One should, therefore, apply to a government valuer to make a site visit to enable them to prepare the prerequisite valuation report for purposes of stamp duty.

Once paid, the transfer of land title documents into your name can occur.

Therefore, buying land in Uganda does not have to be tricky, so long as you do due diligence to protect yourself from fraudsters in land transactions.

The writer is an advocate and chairman Mbarara District Land Board