Can a relative sell or use a dead person's land before succession?
Law of Succession Act · sources read 2 Oct 2026
No. Until a court issues a grant of representation, nobody, relatives included, may take possession of, sell or otherwise deal with a dead person's property; doing so is intermeddling, an offence with a fine of up to KSh 10,000, up to a year in jail, or both. Even an administrator with a grant cannot sell land or share out the property until the grant is confirmed.
- Deadline
- 15 days for a cited person to enter appearance after being served.
- Where
- The probate and administration registry of the magistrate's court or High Court that handles the estate
Steps
- To deal with the property lawfully, someone must first get a grant of representation (letters of administration or probate) from the court.
- If the person entitled to apply keeps delaying, an interested person can ask the court for a citation ordering them to apply within a set time.
- The person cited has 15 days after being served to respond. If they don't, you can petition the court to make the grant to you.
- Once there is an administrator, whoever intermeddled has to answer to them for the property they took, less any proper payments they made for the estate.
Watch out
- An administrator cannot sell land or buildings before the grant is confirmed.
- Nobody can share out the property among heirs until the grant is confirmed.
- Intermeddling is a criminal offence: a fine of up to KSh 10,000, up to one year in jail, or both.
Who this covers
- The rule protects the property of anyone who has died, and it binds everyone: family members, neighbours and buyers alike.
Official sources (2)
- Law of Succession Act (Cap. 160) new.kenyalaw.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Simplified Resource Tool on Inheritance and Related Family Law Practice in Kenya judiciary.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026