LAW OF PROPERTY IN LAND

PROPRIETARY RIGHTS
GROUP 2
18/09/2023
 CHARACTERISTICS OF OWNERSHIP

-The primary characteristic of ownership is possession. An owner has the right to

possess the object or thing owned. In exercise of such right, the owner is free to
determine or decide how the object or thing will be used and by whom on the
premise that the enjoyment will be within the confinements of the law.
-Other people are under a duty not to use or interfere with the rights conferred on
the owner.
•Freehold
•Leasehold
•Differences between lease and license

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 PROPRIETARY RIGHTS
*Land Act No. 6 of 2012
Definition of terms
•Proprietary- Relating to an owner or ownership
•Right(s)- A moral or legal entitlement to have or do something.
•Proprietary rights –Rights that accompany legal ownership of property
•Tenure - basically refers to a set of conditions upon which an estate or interest
in land may be held.
•Estate - the duration of a tenancy in land i.e. the maximum time before which
the tenancy must come to an end. Further divided into 2:
-Freehold estate
-Leasehold estate

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 FREEHOLD ESTATE (absolute proprietorship)
- You own the property and the land it's built on for as long as you want.
-It is free from hold of any entity besides the owner.
-The landlord owns the property for as long as that person’s lineage persists.
-Further subdivided into:
i)Freeholds of inheritance
ii)Freeholds not of inheritance.
-Freeholds of inheritance can be passed from one generation to another and are
further classified into;
i)Fee simple estate -descends to the heir and even to collaterals
ii)Fee tail estate -descends only to lineal descendants
Freeholds not of inheritance:
i)Life estates – ends with the life of the life tenant
ii)Estate pur autre vie - “for the life of another.”
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 LEASEHOLD ESTATE
-The holding of property by lease.
-The legal right to live in or use a building or a piece of land for an agreed period
of time.
-When the lease ends, ownership returns to the freeholder (government), unless
the lease can be extended.
-In Kenya it is usually granted for a period between 99 to 999 years with the
Kenyan constitution limiting non-citizens to a maximum tenure of 99 years.
-Fixed term estate
-Periodic tenancy
-Tenancy at will
-Tenancy at sufferance
Case Law
In Serah Mweru Muhu v Commissioner of Lands & 2 others [2014] eKLR
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 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LEASEHOLD AND FREEHOLD

FREEHOLD LEASEHOLD
-The landlord owns the property for as -The person only owns the property for
long as that person’s lineage persists a specified period
-The individual owning the land does -Requires that the holder pay a certain
not pay any amount of money to regular pre-agreed upon fee to the
anyone. person or entity owning the land.
-There is no need for reapplication of -The holder needs to reapply for
ownership ownership after the time elapses if they
wish to keep the land.

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 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LEASE AND LICENSES
LEASES LICENSES
The lessee has the exclusive right to
possess and use the property for a fixed
term
Lessor relinquishes right to access or use
the property during this time, ensuring
exclusive enjoyment for the lessee
Both parties are bound by the lease
conditions until its expiration.
Require more formalities, and may even
need to be registered or notarized
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Revocable and do not provide the same
level of legal protection as leases.
May have limited rights and might only
be allowed to use the property for specific
purposes outlined in the license agreement
Revocable at will, licensor can revoke
permission granted to the licensee at any
time without going through a formal
eviction process.
Generally less formal and may not require
registration
 OTHER FORMS OF PROPRIETORSHIP IN LAND
Concurrent Ownership

-Where two or more persons have a simultaneous and not a consecutive interest in the same land at any one
time:
•Joint tenancy- The individuals share equal ownership of the property and have equal undivided right to keep
or dispose of the property. Creates a right of survivorship which means that if any one of the joint tenants dies,
the remainder of the property is automatically transferred to the surviving owner
•Tenancy in common- they both have shares in a single property, which has not yet been divided among them.
Has no right of survivorship.

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 Works Cited
• Land Act no. 6 of 2012
• Oxford dictionary
• halifax.co.uk
• Registered Land Act (Cap 300, Laws of Kenya)
• Registration of Titles Act (Cap 281, Laws of Kenya)
• Government Lands Act (Cap 280, Laws of Kenya)
• Cap 301 Laws of Kenya, Landlord and Tenant Act

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Thank You!
GROUP 2

STREAM 1: CLASS OF 2026