Public, community and private land: what is the difference?
Constitution of Kenya · sources read 2 Oct 2026
All land in Kenya is classified as public, community or private. Private land is land a person holds on freehold or leasehold; community land is held by communities, such as group land, community forests, grazing areas and ancestral land; public land includes unalienated government land, forests, roads, rivers, lakes and any land that is not private or community land.
- Where
- National Land Commission (public land); county government (unregistered community land); Environment and Land Court (disputes)
Steps
- Public land is managed by the National Land Commission on behalf of the national and county governments; raise questions or complaints about public land with the Commission.
- Unregistered community land is held in trust by the county government for the community.
- Disputes over the use, occupation of and title to land go to the Environment and Land Court.
Watch out
- Public land can only be given out or used as an Act of Parliament allows.
- Community land can only be given out or used under a law setting out members' rights.
- Land that is not classified as private or community land is public land.
Who this covers
- All land in Kenya: it belongs to the people collectively as a nation, as communities and as individuals.
Official sources (1)
- Constitution of Kenya, 2010 new.kenyalaw.org · read 2 Oct 2026