Jointly owned land: what happens when an owner dies or wants to sell
Land Registration Act · sources read 4 Oct 2026
It depends on how the title registers you. If you are joint tenants, a deceased owner's share passes automatically to the surviving owners and the Registrar deletes the name on proof of death; if you are tenants in common, the share goes to the deceased's estate. Where the transfer does not say, the law presumes tenants in common in equal shares.
- Where
- The Land Registry where the land is registered; disputes over the Registrar's decision go to court
Steps
- Check the register or title: it should show whether you are joint tenants or tenants in common, and each person's share if in common.
- If a joint tenant dies, take proof of death to the Registrar, who deletes the deceased's name by registering the death certificate.
- A tenant in common who wants to sell their share to an outsider needs the written consent of the other co-owners, which cannot be unreasonably withheld.
- If consent cannot be got or is unreasonably refused, the Registrar can dispense with it on adequate proof. Anyone aggrieved by the Registrar's decision can go to court.
- Joint tenants who want separate shares can sign the prescribed instrument to sever the joint ownership; it is complete once registered.
Watch out
- If the transfer does not say how you hold the land, you are presumed tenants in common in equal shares.
- Joint tenants have no separate share: all must sign any dealing, and a joint tenant can transfer only to the other joint tenants; a transfer to anyone else is void.
- For tenants in common, a deceased owner's share is part of their estate, so it passes through succession.
Who this covers
- Two or more people who own land together, as joint tenants or tenants in common.
Official sources (2)
- Land Registration Act (No. 3 of 2012, Cap. 300) new.kenyalaw.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Land Registration Act, 2012 (No. 3 of 2012), Kenya Law print parliament.go.ke · read 4 Oct 2026