This is Part 1 of a three-part series tracing how a piece of land becomes a registered sectional unit, apartment, townhouse, office, godown, or warehouse, under Kenya’s Sectional Properties Act No. 21 of 2020, which replaced the earlier 1987 law.
The Base Survey & Feasibility
Before an architect draws a single wall, a licensed surveyor has to establish the “Mother Parcel”, the land itself, with its physical and legal boundaries confirmed.
This happens through a Property Identification Survey. The surveyor locates the existing boundary beacons, verifies them against the survey plan or mutation diagram, and confirms there are no encroachments, such as a neighbour’s fence crossing the boundary line.
A topographic survey is also carried out to establish the general lay of the land. The key deliverable at this stage is a detailed topo-cadastral diagram of the parcel, together with a surveyor’s report of the findings
The Architectural & Engineering Design
This stage is about designing the physical building to fit within the legal boundaries already established. Architects focus on aesthetics and design; engineers focus on execution and structural integrity; the land surveyor focuses on measurement, accuracy, and the legal implications of the property. The surveyor provides data points to the architect, who then designs the building so that every unit has fully enclosed boundaries — floors, walls, and ceilings.
A critical distinction has to be made at this stage: what counts as a Unit, and what counts as Common Property (hallways, gardens, roofs). Any exclusive use area — for example, a specific parking spot or a rooftop garden assigned to one unit — must be clearly defined. If a surveyor does not specifically denote a parking bay as an Exclusive Use Area, that bay remains Common Property, meaning anyone in the development can park there.
The Change of User
Before any sectional plan can be drawn, the land has to be zoned appropriately. Sectional developments can have different types of user, such as multi-dwelling residential units or mixed-use developments (residential cum commercial), and the property’s user must align with the county government’s physical and land use plan.
Under the Physical and Land Use Planning Act (PLUPA), 2019, developers must obtain change of user approval from the County Government. The sectional plan must clearly indicate the user of each unit, and the Land Registrar will not register a sectional plan unless that user is stated. If a parcel is currently zoned for single-family dwellings, the change of user process has to be completed first, right up to registration of a new title reflecting the new user.
Tenure Tango: Freehold vs. Leasehold — The Foreigner Trap
Kenyan sectional properties can be owned under two tenure systems:
- Freehold — the Sectional Properties Corporation and unit owners hold the land in perpetuity.
- Leasehold — the head lease must have an unexpired residue term of not less than twenty-one (21) years at the time of registration.
Under Kenyan law, foreigners cannot own freehold land or units. If the mother parcel is freehold and units are intended for sale to foreign nationals, the tenure must first be converted from freehold to leasehold. Foreigners can only own units under leasehold tenure, and for a maximum term of 99 years.
The same 21-year threshold applies to existing leasehold parcels: the unexpired term must be 21 years or more before a sectional survey can even be undertaken. This rule is non-negotiable — a sectional development cannot proceed on a lease with, for example, only 15 years remaining. Registration will be rejected.
They were conversing together in low tones, and gesticulating and pointing toward me. Their discovery that I had not harmed the little Martians, and that I was unarmed, must have caused them to look upon me with less ferocity; but, as I was to learn later, the thing which weighed most in my favor was my exhibition of hurdling.
Coming in Part 2: how the finished building actually gets measured and geo-referenced, what happens when a parcel falls under “general boundaries,” and the government approval chain a sectional plan has to clear before it can be registered.
This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult a qualified professional licensed in Kenya for advice tailored to their specific circumstances.
Last modified: July 21, 2026
