Land Disputes

Land disputes are the legal conflicts that arise over the ownership, possession, use, and boundaries of land. In Kenya, land disputes are among the most common and most contentious forms of litigation — driven by the high value of land, the complexity of the land registration system, the legacy of historical injustices, and the overlap between statutory and customary land tenure. Land disputes are heard by the Environment and Land Court (ELC), which has exclusive jurisdiction over most land matters, with appeals to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The principal statutes are the Land Act, 2012, the Land Registration Act, 2012, the Land Control Act (Cap 302), the Limitation of Actions Act (Cap 22), and the Constitution.

This area covers the full range of land litigation. Advocates handle title disputes — cases where the ownership of land is contested, whether because of alleged fraud in the acquisition of the title, because of conflicting titles, or because the registered owner's title is challenged by a person with a better equitable claim. The work also covers the procedures for challenging titles — including the use of civil suits, the lodging of cautions and inhibitions to protect the land pending litigation, and the application for orders of rectification of the register.

Advocates handle boundary disputes — cases where the boundary between two parcels of land is in dispute. Advocates work with licensed surveyors to establish the correct boundary, and they litigate the dispute where the survey evidence does not resolve the matter. Advocates also handle disputes over party walls, rights of way, easements, and restrictive covenants.

Advocates act in adverse possession claims — where a person who has occupied another person's land for 12 years or more, without the owner's consent, seeks to be registered as the owner of the land. Advocates act for both the claimant (the person seeking to be registered) and the registered owner (the person defending the claim). Adverse possession claims are governed by the Limitation of Actions Act and the Land Registration Act, and they require careful evidence of the nature and duration of the occupation.

Advocates handle disputes over beneficial ownership — cases where the registered owner of land holds the land on trust for another person. This includes constructive trusts (where the registered owner has acted in a way that makes it unconscionable for them to deny the other person's interest), resulting trusts (where the purchase money was contributed by someone other than the registered owner), and customary trusts (where land registered in one person's name is held for the benefit of a family or clan under customary law).

Advocates act in succession-related land disputes — where the deceased's land has not been properly transferred to the beneficiaries, or where the administrator of the estate has dealt with the land in a way that is not authorised by the grant or the will. Advocates also handle disputes over the division of matrimonial property under the Matrimonial Property Act, where the land is the family home or an investment property.

Advocates handle disputes involving public land — including challenges to allocations by the National Land Commission, disputes over compulsory acquisition and compensation, and proceedings for the recovery of illegally allocated public land. Advocates also act in disputes involving community land under the Community Land Act, 2016 — including disputes over the registration of community land, the management of communal resources, and the resolution of conflicts between communities and between communities and the state.