When did the Land Regulations come into force?

As you are aware, Parliament recently approved various land regulations. 

Because none of the recently approved Land Regulations stipulate a ‘commencement date,’ the date of publication is deemed to be the commencement date.  Accordingly, the Land Regulations came into force on their respective publication dates in 2017.  Please see the table below for those dates.

Are the old forms we were using between 2017 and now void?

No.  Section 26 (2) of the Statutory Instruments Act provides protection in situations where forms are updated and / or changed under new legislation.  Under the Statutory Instruments Act, an old form is not void if its substance is similar to the new form and the use of old form was not done to mislead anyone.  Accordingly, the use of the old forms between the date of publication of the new Land Regulations and the date Parliament approved the new Land Regulations would fall within section 26 (2) of the Statutory Instruments Act and therefore be deemed valid because the substance of the forms are similar and the use of the old forms was not done to mislead.

Did you know you can apply to use a different form as opposed to the new prescribed forms?

The Land Registration (General) Regulations 2017 prescribe the forms to be used for transfers of land, transfers of leases, charges, powers of attorney and other similar transactions dealing with land.

However, Regulation 87(4) of these Regulations permits the use of an alternative form, provided you make an application of approval, attaching both the proscribed form and the alternative form, to the Registrar.  

In cases of ongoing transactions where old forms are being used, you must get approval of the Land Registrar by submitting an application as set out above prior to proceeding to stamping and, thereafter, registration.

If you have any queries, please contact Alex Njage, Muthoni Runji or Cornelius Kigera.